IMPORTANT POINT
Independence of judiciary is the basic feature of the Constitution. It demands that a Judge who presides over the trial, the Public Prosecutor who presents the case on behalf of the State and the lawyer vis-à-vis amicus curiae who represents the accused must work together in harmony in the public interest of justice uninfluenced by the personality of the accused or those managing the affairs of the State. They must ensure that their working does not lead to creation of conflict between justice and jurisprudence. A person whether he is a judicial officer or a Public Prosecutor or a lawyer defending the accused should always uphold the dignity of their high office with a full sense of responsibility and see that its value in no circumstance gets devalued. The public interest demands that the trial should be conducted in a fair manner and the administration of justice would be fair and independent.

JUDGMENT

P.Sathasivam, CJI.

1) Leave granted.

2) This appeal is directed against the final judgment and order dated 01.07.2013 passed by the High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi in Criminal Misc. Petition No. 1619 of 2013 whereby the High Court dismissed the petition filed by the appellant herein for transferring the case being R.C. No. 20(A)/1996 from the Court of Special Judge-IV, CBI, (AHD), Ranchi to any other Court of competent jurisdiction.

3) Brief facts:

(a) This appeal relates to illegal withdrawal of a sum of Rs.35,66,42,086/- from the Treasury of Chaibasa by the officials of Animal Husbandry Department, Government of Bihar in connivance with the politicians and suppliers in the year 1994-95 which culminated into the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) being R.C. No. 20(A)/1996 dated 27.03.1996 under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477, 477A, 201, 511 read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ( in short ‘the IPC’) and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (in short ‘the PC Act’) against a number of accused persons including the appellant herein.

(b) After investigation, a charge sheet was submitted in the Court of the Special Judge IV, CBI (AHD), Ranchi in the year 1997 and the charges were framed in the year 2000 in respect of various offences punishable under the IPC and the PC Act. The prosecution started its arguments and concluded on 10.12.2012 and the arguments advanced on behalf of 43 out of 45 accused persons got concluded on 25.02.2013. The prosecution argued its case against the appellant from 22.04.2013 to 15.05.2013 and, thereafter, the case was posted on 16.05.2013 for arguments on behalf of the appellant which continued till 31.05.2013. Considering the fact that the matter has been lingering on since 1997, the Court below passed an order dated 10.06.2013 that on the next date, if the arguments would not be advanced on behalf of the appellant, it shall be closed. Thereupon, the arguments were advanced till 18.06.2013. On 20.06.2013, a notice was issued by the trial Judge informing all the parties that written arguments may be filed on or before 01.07.2013 and judgment is to be delivered on or before 15.07.2013. At this stage, Criminal Misc. Petition No. 1619 of 2013 was filed before the High Court by the appellant for the transfer of the case from the Court of Special Judge IV, CBI (AHD) to any other court of competent jurisdiction on the apprehension that a fair and impartial trial cannot be done by the aforesaid court.

(c) The High Court, after considering the rival submissions and taking note of the fact that the case has reached the stage of delivering judgment, by order dated 01.07.2013, provided a further time of 10 days for conclusion of the arguments and dismissed the petition which resulted in the present appeal by way of special leave.

(d) On the day when the matter was posted for hearing, one Rajiv Ranjan Singh @ Lallan Singh, Member of the Lok Sabha from Munger Parliamentary Constituency in the State of Bihar, filed Criminal Misc. Petition No. 14939 of 2013 seeking intervention in the abovesaid appeal. It was also stated that he was one of the writ petitioners before the High Court of Patna in a writ petition filed in public interest which led to the unearthing of the fodder scam in the State of Bihar during the period 1977 to 1996. According to him, he has been fighting all along for a free and fair investigation of the case and expeditious conclusion of the trial so that the guilty are brought to book and public confidence in the judicial system is not shaken. It is also highlighted that due to various orders of the monitoring Bench of the High Court of Jharkhand, the matter has reached its concluding stage, hence, there is no bona fide and the claim of the appellant is devoid of any merit and deserves to be dismissed in the interest of justice.

(e) Serious objection was raised by the appellant and the respondent-State thro