Judicial delay irks magistrate,forces him to close inquiry

A Delhi judge recently got a taste of judicial delay,compelling him to shelve an inquiry into corruption allegations against some in-house staff.

A Delhi judge recently got a taste of judicial delay,compelling him to shelve an inquiry into corruption allegations against some in-house staff. Frustrated with a court officers failure to turn up for departmental proceedings,despite repeated summons,the judge noted that the proceedings have come to a deadlock and he was constrained to close them.

Metropolitan Magistrate Siddharth Mathur,who presided over the inquiry to decide a bribery complaint against two Tis Hazari court employees,said,The court is pained in observing adversely against the presenting officer,who himself is a court employee,and,hence,a better behaviour was expected of him. The circumstances unequivocally point to the lethargic and irresponsible manner in which the present departmental proceedings have been pursued by the department as well as the presenting office, said the magistrate in his final order.

The matter pertains to a complaint filed by a litigant who had moved a civil suit in a property dispute earlier. The civil suit was decided in his favour and a warrant of possession was issued in December,2007. The litigant in his complaint said the two court employees,who were to serve the warrant,allegedly accepted bribe from the other party for not serving it. They then falsely reported to the court that they could not serve the warrant as the litigant had fallen sick.

After considering the defence put forth by the employees,the administrative civil judge found a prima facie case against the duo and charges of accepting bribe and preparing a false report were framed against them in December 2010.

Subsequently,a departmental proceeding was ordered and the inquiry was handed over to the magistrate in March last year. The magistrate asked the presenting officer to show up on behalf of the department in June last year. The presenting officer turned up once,but has remained elusive since October 2011. He failed to appear despite several notices and the proceedings were brought to a stalemate.

The record shows a sorry state of affairs with regard to the manner in which the case has been pursued by the department as well as by its presenting officer. It appears that the presenting officer appears at his whims and fancies and has no regard whatsoever to the directions given by the court, said the judge.

Sending the final order back to the administrative civil judge,the magistrate noted that since the department had failed to lead evidence of any sort to prove the charges against the delinquent officials,allegations remained unproved and,hence,no disciplinary action could be taken against them.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram