InCRL.M.C. 527/2023 -DEL HC-Trial Courts should refrain from issuing NBWs pre-lunch, coercive measures to be taken only after 12:30 pm: Delhi High Court issues guidelines for issuance of warrants
Justice Amit Bansal [21-11-2023]

Read Order: Fahim V. State

Chahat Varma

New Delhi, December 1, 2023: In a significant move to safeguard the personal liberty of accused persons, the Delhi High Court has issued a set of guidelines for the issuance of warrants by trial courts in criminal cases.

The Court's intervention comes in response to a growing trend of trial courts resorting to issuing warrants without due consideration of the reasons for non-appearance of accused individuals.

The recent case involved the petitioner, Fahim, who had been granted bail by the Delhi High Court in September 2020. However, the trial court issued Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) against him on January 3, 2023, for non-appearance. Despite reaching the court later that day and filing an application for NBW cancellation, the trial court dismissed the application on January 17, 2023.

The single-judge bench of Justice Amit Bansalhighlighted Rule 3, Part C (i), Volume III, Chapter 1 of the Delhi High Court Rules, emphasizing that warrant issuance interferes with personal liberty of a person and the Magistrate should take care that no greater hardship than is necessary is caused to the person concerned.

The bench also referred to the decisions from co-ordinate benches, emphasizing that trial courts should avoid issuing NBWs for non-appearance during early hours The bench expressed agreement with these decisions and emphasized that parties often face difficulties reaching the court on time due to various reasons, such as traffic.

In the case at hand, the petitioner had arrived late for the proceedings due to heavy traffic resulting from a political rally. Consequently, the bench determined that this reason did not warrant the Trial Court's issuance of NBWs. As a result, the bench decided to set aside both the order for the issuance of NBWs and the subsequent order rejecting the application for their cancellation. The bench emphasized that the Trial Court should have promptly reviewed the application for cancellation, which was submitted on the same day and accompanied by an explanation for the petitioner's non-appearance.

Consequently, in light of the growing trend of Trial Courts deviating from established legal principles, the Court issued the following guidelines:

1. Trial Courts should refrain from issuing NBWs on the first call in the pre-lunch hours, except in cases where there are genuine concerns of absconding. Such coercive steps should be taken only post 12:30 PM.
2. If warrants are issued and the person appears before the court during the course of the court hours, the courts should assess if the reason for non-appearance was reasonable and if warranted, costs may be imposed.
3. If the person is present through his authorized advocate, warrants for appearance of the person should be issued only in exceptional circumstances, with reasons for the same being recorded in writing, especially where an application seeking exemption from personal appearance has been filed on behalf of the person.
4. If an application for cancellation of NBWs due to non-appearance of the parties is filed shortly after the issuance of NBWs, the trial court should expeditiously consider the said application.