A criminal case, involving a former minister of Jharkhand and his MLA wife, saw the lower court judge in Hazaribagh putting these accused on trial by pronouncing the order framing charges against them through a ‘WhatsApp’ call. Taking it to the apex court, both the accused told that the trial judge had framed charges against them through a ‘WhatsApp’ call on April 19 this year, despite they raising objections to it.
Looking at the peculiar administration, a bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and L N Rao said, “What is happening in Jharkhand. This process cannot be allowed, and we cannot allow administration of justice to be brought into disrepute”. “We are here on the way of trial being conducted through WhatsApp. This cannot be done. What kind of a trial is this? Is this a kind of joke?”
Jharkhand’s counsel told the bench that the accused has been violating the bail condition and had been out of Bhopal most of the time due to which proceedings in the case were delayed.
Over the yet again a strange excuse, top court blasted at the counsel saying, “That is a different thing. If you have a problem with violation of bail conditions by the accused, you can file a separate application seeking cancellation of bail.”
The bench issued notice to Jharkhand on the plea by both the accused, who have sought transfer of their cases from Hazaribagh to New Delhi, and asked the state to respond to it within two weeks.
