Sets aside 40 pronouncements by former Amritsar judge,cases to be heard afresh In an embarrassment for former sub-judge of Amritsar Baljinder Singh Sra,the Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the 40 judgments pronounced by him but never dictated during his tenure will be treated to be a nullity. A division bench comprising Justice A K Goel and Justice Alok Singh issued the directions holding that the said 40 cases would be considered pending and heard afresh. Arguing on behalf of the High Court,Advocate D S Patwalia had contended that by mere pronouncement of a judgment,which did not exist,the case could not be treated to have been decided,the cases will have to be treated as pending. Accepting the argument,the Bench ruled: The submission deserves to be accepted. Accordingly,we hold the cases in which no judgments were written and signed at the time of pronouncement,a list of which is on record,will have to be treated as pending. Subsequent writing of judgments and ante-dating the same will be treated to be a nullity. From the report of the district and sessions judge (DSJ) of Amritsar,dated November 12,2009,it was found that as many as 40 applications for certified copies were lying pending relating to the orders passed by Baljinder Singh Sra,former civil judge (junior division). It was also found that no orders had been written and signed till then. On December 9,the inspecting judge recorded that since the judgments were not signed and dictated at the time of pronouncement,the said cases should not be treated as disposed of. The matter was brought to the notice of Justice Hemant Gupta,the then administrative judge for Amritsar who took a suo motu notice of it. Referring the matter to the judicial side,the High Court had referred to a 2003 judgment passed against a dismissed judicial officer of Haryana who was held guilty of holding court files and not signing them for a substantial period of time. In the said judgment,the High Court had held that it had no hesitation in holding that by not signing and delivering the judgments,the judge committed fraud on his own court. Sras services as sub-judge were dispensed with on account of unsatisfactory work and conduct on December 7,2009,by the Full Court (comprising of all High Court judges). Sra was on probation and the court had decided to refuse his confirmation. A case of attempt to murder,dowry harassment,criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation was registered against Sra and his family on October 4,2009. The FIR was registered in Ludhiana on the complaint of Sras wife. Punjab is a peaceful state,says Badal BEGOWAL (KAPURTHALA): Claiming that Punjab is free of any Naxal activities,Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday said the Centres policies are responsible for Naxal violence in some states of the country. He was in Begowal on the occasion of the 60th death anniversary of Sant Prem Singh Muralewale. Badal said Punjab is a peaceful state and lashed out the at the Centre for its anti-Sikh policies. Enumerating the achievements of the SAD-BJP government in the state,Badal said vast and intensive development projects are being carried on in the state. Rs 10 crore is being spent in every Vidhan Sabha segment for various development projects,he added.
