Mere apprehension of threat of life is not sufficient ground to transfer case: SC

Read Order: Dinesh Mahajan vs. Vishal Mahajan 

Pankaj Bajpai

New Delhi, November 11, 2021: The Supreme Court has ruled that mere apprehension of threat of life is not a sufficient ground to transfer a case, without lodging a complaint or substantiating the said ground.

The ruling came in relation to a petition filed by Dinesh Mahajan for transfer of Complaint No. 3105 of 2021 titled as “Vishal Mahajan vs. Dinesh Mahajan” filed u/s 420 and 506 of IPC pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Jammu to Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi. 

The counsel for petitioner had prayed for exemption from personal appearance by relying on a judgment titled Puneet Dalmia vs. Central Bureau of Investigation, Hyderabad , inter-alia contending that exemption from personal appearance may be granted.

The Bench of Justice J.K. Maheshwari observed that the petitioner has an apprehension of threat of life, but no complaint has been lodged by the petitioner to the authorities concerned or before any Court. 

Justice Maheshwari also opined that order passed by this Court in the case of Puneet Dalmia(supra) does not apply in the present transfer petition merely on the basis of apprehension.

Accordingly, the Apex Court refused to transfer the complaint case pending in the Court of CJM, Jammu to Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi, and dismissed the petition.