My morale badly dampened: Begusarai judge objects to Principal District Judge transferring case away from him

The order was passed by Justice Singh in an execution case from 2024, filed by Manish Kumar of Handalpur in Begusarai. The execution proceedings relate to compensation awarded to Kumar after his guardian died in a road accident involving a police vehicle. The claim had been decreed earlier, and the execution case concerns the enforcement of that award against the State of Bihar through the DM and others.

In the order copy dictated in court and signed by Justice Singh on November 17, he noted that on October 14, 2025, his court had recommended initiation of contempt proceedings against the DM and SP and had sought show-cause replies.

The court recorded that no reply was submitted by the DM despite repeated opportunities. The order also mentioned that, though the SP filed a response, paragraph 8 of his filing stated that he would reserve the right to submit a detailed show-cause before the Patna High Court.

Judge Singh observed, “It appears that DM and SP are willing to file their respective show-causes in the Hon’ble High Court, Patna directly.”

In view of this, the court directed, “OC (officer in charge) to send the extracts of miscellaneous case (with the relevant orders) to the Registrar General, Hon’ble High Court, Patna, with the recommendation to initiate contempt against the SP and DM.”

Soon after issuing these directions, Judge Singh received an order dated November 15 from the Principal District and Sessions Judge (PDJ), Begusarai, recalling the execution case to his “personal file” for hearing and disposal.

Judge Singh stated that he had “no vested interest in the matter” and was ready to comply. He, accordingly, directed the OC “to hand over the entire case records to the court of Ld Principal District and Sessions Judge, Begusarai, for keeping the records in his personal file”.

However, he recorded that the recall had taken place “without any application at the behest of either party or without report of the court”. He added that the PDJ appeared to have acted “without even looking at the records, maybe on the basis of his personal knowledge, because the entire file is pending in the court of District Judge-III”.

Judge Singh also mentioned the scope of Section 24 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which the PDJ acted. He said in the order, “The Principal District and Sessions Judge, Begusarai, has palpably passed the order in the interest of so-called ‘administration’. However, section 24 of CPC is conspicuously silent about transfer on the ground of so-called ‘administration’.”

“It is trite that the power of the Principal District and Sessions Judge under section 24 of the CPC cannot be exercised ‘at his whims and fancies’,” the judge said in the order.

Referring to the phrase “of its own motion” in the provision, he noted, “The alternative phrase ‘of its own motion’ used in section 24 of the CPC cannot be equated with ‘the pleasure’ of Principal District and Sessions Judge’.”

Judge Singh stated that the PDJ “has no absolute power to transfer the case when the transferor court is at the stage of concluding the proceedings in that case”.

According to the order, transferring the case at this stage “has violated the ‘principle of judicial independence’, the very judicial principle which every judge has sworn (to) protect”.

Judge Singh remarked that the consequence of such interference was to make “the judiciary a matter of laughing stocks inasmuch as the judges of the subordinate judiciary appear to be only paper tigers, having no order passed by them has got binding effect on mighty and powerful bureaucrats”.

Judge Singh further dictated, “My morale is badly dampened by seeing as to how the water is thrown at the entire efforts of this court by this transfer”.

He questioned how compliance could be expected from ordinary litigants if senior officials appeared insulated from accountability. “Why only poor should be subjected to coercive orders of the court for non-compliance, when mighty bureaucrats are made absolutely immune from judicial process in the lower judiciary?” Justice Singh stated.

He added that, in his opinion, “the transfer by Ld Principal District and Sessions Judge, Begusarai, was made to shield the DM and SP from contempt proceeding”.

The order also notes that the PDJ had interfered on earlier occasions, a matter “duly recorded” in the court’s order dated September 23.

Complying with the transfer order, Judge Singh added, “I am withdrawing from this case as mandated by the aforesaid transfer by Ld Principal District and Sessions Judge, Begusarai, but I have no regrets.”

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