2010 Supreme(SC) 397

2010 (3) Supreme 705
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CJI, K.G. Balakrishnan,Deepak Verma and B.S. Chauhan, JJ.
Central Bureau of Investigation (C.B.I.) — Petitioner
versus
Hopeson Ningshen & Ors. — Respondents
Transfer Petition (Crl.) Nos. 219-220 of 2009
Decided on : 3-05-2010

IMPORTANT POINTS
1. The foremost consideration for directing the transfer of cases under Section 406 of CrPC is to examine what is expedient in the ends of justice.
2. Central criterion for the court to consider when a motion for transfer is made is not the hypersensitivity or relative convenience of a party or easy availability of legal services or like mini- grievances. Something more substantial, more compelling, more imperiling, from the point of view of public justice and its attendant environment, is necessitous if the court is to exercise its power of transfer.

Headnote:Code of Criminal Procedure,1973- Section 406 - Transfer Petition filed by CBI Seeking transfer of two cases from the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ukhrul, Manipur to a competent Criminal Court in Delhi- Respondent had been accused of kidnapping and murder of three government employees in State of Manipur- These killings had provoked an outcry in the State of Manipur and protests were held by several groups-Having regard to seriousness of crime, Government of Manipur transferred the investigation into said cases to CBI-Among the government employees who had been abducted, three persons released were of Naga ethnicity whereas the three deceased persons were of Metei ethnicity- In addition to the social unrest created in wake of the killings, there was also an apprehension of conflict between persons belonging to these communities since alleged killers were of Naga ethnicity- Irrespective of such an apprehension, CBI had urged that the trial in these cases be transferred to Delhi, in view of specific threat to life of respondent-accused which could frustrate the objective of conducting a fair trial- In order to ensure that a fair trial takes place in the cases in question, interests of all stakeholders, namely the accused, the witnesses, prosecutors, near relatives of the victims as well as society at large had to be taken into account- CBI in its capacity as investigating agency had clearly conveyed the risks associated with conducting the trial in Manipur- Even if one were to concede that the apprehension about social unrest and communal tension between the Meities and the Nagas were a little exaggerated, there could be no quarrel that there existed a real possibility of a physical attack on the respondent-accused as long as he was in Manipur- It was precisely because of this consideration that respondent-accused was being held in custody at a distant location in Delhi- Furthermore, conducting trial in Manipur could also reasonably lead to more friction in the State of Manipur which in turn could affect the trial proceedings themselves- Killings took place in a region where opinions were sharply divided on the justness of causes espoused by the NSCN (IM) and respondent-accused was a member of the same organization- This created a risk of intimidation of the witnesses as well as undue prejudice seeping into the minds of those who may be involved in the legal proceedings in different capacities- In this scenario, held that it would be expedient in the ends of justice to conduct the trial in Delhi-Hence direction given that the impugned cases be transferred from the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ukhrul,Manipur to a designated CBI Court in New Delhi. (Paras 12, 13)

       Facts of the Case :

       Present Transfer Petition has been filed by CBI Seeking transfer of two cases from the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ukhrul, Manipur to a competent Criminal court in Delhi. Respondent had been accused of kidnapping and murder of three government employees in State of Manipur. These killings had provoked an outcry in the State of Manipur and protests were held by several groups. Having regard to seriousness of crime, Government of Manipur transferred the investigation into said cases to CBI.Among the government employees who had been abducted, three persons released were of Naga ethnicity whereas the three deceased persons were of Metei ethnicity. In addition to the social unrest created in wake of the killings, there was also an apprehension of conflict between persons belonging to these communities since alleged killers were of Naga ethnicity. Irrespective of such an apprehension, CBI had urged that the trial in these cases be transferred to Delhi, in view of specific threat to life of respondent-accused which could frustrate the objective of conducting a fair trial.

       Findings of the Court :

       In order to ensure that a fair trial takes place in the cases in question, interests of all stakeholders, namely the accused, the witnesses, prosecutors, near relatives of the victims as well as society at large had to be taken into account. CBI in its capacity as investigating agency had clearly conveyed the risks associated with conducting the trial in Manipur. Even if apprehension about social unrest and communal tension between the Meities and the Nagas were a little exaggerated, there could be no quarrel that there existed a real possibility of a physical attack on the respondent-accused as long as he was in Manipur. It was precisely because of this consideration that respondent-accused was being held in custody at a distant location in Delhi. Furthermore,conducting trial in Manipur could also reasonably lead to more friction in the State of Manipur which in turn could affect the trial proceedings themselves. Killings took place in a region where opinions were sharply divided on the justness of causes espoused by the NSCN (IM) and respondent-accused was a member of the same organization. This created a risk of intimidation of the witnesses as well as undue prejudice seeping into the minds of those who may be involved in the legal proceedings in different capacities. In this scenario, held that it would be expedient in the ends of justice to conduct the trial in Delhi.Hence direction was given that the impugned cases be transferred from the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ukhrul,Manipur to a designated CBI Court in New Delhi.