HC raps jail authorities, civil hospital officials for helping accused in evading his production at Chhattisgarh court on medical grounds

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Read Order: Nirmal Singh Bhangu v. State of Punjab 

Vivek Gupta

Chandigarh, July 30, 2021: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rapped the jail authorities as well as local civic hospital officials of Punjab’s Sri Muktsar Sahib town for helping a chit fund accused in evading his production at a Chhattisgarh court on medical grounds.

The chit fund accused, who is the petitioner in the present case, is an undertrial in a criminal case arising out of an FIR registered on 01.06.2016 at Police Station Bathinda Cantonment under Sections 406 and 420 IPC. He is currently lodged at jail premises in Sri Muktsar Sahib. 

The Special Court, Bemetra in Chhattisgarh issued a production warrant directing the Superintendent of the said Jail to produce the petitioner before it to give reply in the Criminal Case pertaining to a separate FIR registered in 2017 at Police Station Bemetra under Section 420 read with Section 34 IPC and Section 10 of the Chhattisgarh Protection of Depositors Interest Act, 2005 as well as Sections 3 and 4 of the Price Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.

Dhal Singh Sahu, Sub Inspector, Police Station Bemetra, presented this production warrant before the Superintendent of the aforesaid Jail for its compliance but the petitioner informed that he was not feeling well. Then, he was medically examined at the Civil Hospital, Sri Muktsar Sahib and the doctors opined that he was ‘unfit’ for long travelling due to his medical condition.

However, Bemetra Sub Inspector moved an application, through the Assistant Public Prosecutor concerned, before the JMIC (Duty) at Sri Muktsar Sahib for getting the medical examination of the petitioner conducted by the panel of senior doctors in Government Rajendra Hospital, Patiala and also for the compliance of the production warrant issued by the said Court at Bemetra.

The JMIC allowed the application. On the receipt of the report on the medical condition of the petitioner from Rajindra Hospital Patiala, the JMIC(Duty) passed the impugned order on 28.06.2021 mentioning that as per the report of the said Medical Board, there was no apparent restriction for long distance travelling by the petitioner to Bemetra and one doctor may accompany him.

Later, on 06.07.2021, the petitioner raised health problems and was then taken to the Gastroenterology Department, PGIMER, Chandigarh. Meanwhile, the petitioner moved the high court challenging the order of JMIC. 

The order passed by the High Court on that day, the Director, PGI was directed to constitute a Medical Board comprising of the experts in view of the ailments of the petitioner as reported in his medical record and the said Board was directed to examine the petitioner and to give specific opinion about the petitioner’s fitness to travel the distance up to Bemetra (Chhatisgarh), by 12.07.2021.

The Medical Board, after examining the petitioner, categorically observed and recommended that the petitioner was ‘fit’ to travel.

Dismissing the accused’s plea, the bench of Justice Meenakshi Mehta stated that “Before parting with this judgment, this Court is constrained to express its deep concern over the entire act and conduct on the part of the petitioner who has left no stone unturned in a bid to thwart the process of the administration of criminal justice so as to evade his production in the above-said Special Court because as specifically mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, when the Superintendent of the said Jail was completing the formalities to comply with the production warrant,  he (petitioner) started saying that he was not feeling well.

“Then, he was taken to the local Civil Hospital where he was declared to be ‘unfit’ to travel. When he was medically examined by the Board at Rajindera Hospital, Patiala, in compliance with the impugned order of JMIC, the Board opined that there was no apparent restriction on his travelling.”

The HC further noted that on 06.07.2021, he was again taken to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College & Hospital at Faridkot by the Jail authorities and was, finally, referred to the PGI and the Medical Board at PGI also opined that he was fit to travel.

“The entire afore-referred sequence of the events unequivocally speaks volumes of the fact that the petitioner has abused the process of law by misusing his medical condition and strangely, the Jail Authorities as well as the authorities at the local Civil Hospital, also, for the reasons best known to them, seem to be acting in unison with the petitioner to help him out in evading his production at the above-said Special Court and this conduct on their part is highly deplorable because all the limbs of the system of the administration of criminal justice need to act and work in the required and desired manner so as to make it achieve the goal of its very establishment,” observed the bench.

It added, “As a sequel to the fore-going discussion as well as the observations, it follows that the petition in hand deserves dismissal. Resultantly, the same stands dismissed accordingly.”

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