The declaration of a proclaimed person must comply with legal requirements, including sufficient reasons and procedural adherence to ensure fairness in trial proceedings.

JUDGMENT :

SANJAY VASHISTH, J.

1. Instant petition, under Section 528 of the BNSS , 2023 (earlier Section 482 Cr.P.C.), has been filed for quashing of the order dated 22.10.2024 (Annexure P-1), whereby the petitioner has been declared as ‘proclaimed person’, on account of his non-appearance in Criminal Complaint Case No.COMA-186-2022, instituted on 01.04.2022, titled as, “Gurmeet Singh v. Satish Sharma Etc.”, u/s 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (in short, ‘NI Act’).

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that Criminal Complaint bearing No. COMA-186-2022, instituted at the instance of respondent No.2, was entertained and, vide order dated 02.06.2022, learned JMIC, Rajpura, issued summoning order. Thereafter, the petitioner was regularly attending the proceedings before the trial Court.

It is further submitted that due to some bona fide reasons, the petitioner could not put in appearance before the trial Court on subsequent dates. Thereafter, without ensuring due compliance of the mandatory provisions of Section 82 Cr.P.C., which require publication and service of proclamation, and even without recording sufficient ‘reasons to believe’ that the petitioner had absconded or was concealing himself, the learned Magistrate, vide impugned order dated 22.10.2024, mechanically declared the petitioner as a ‘proclaimed offender’.

3. Learned counsel further submits that now the petitioner has come to know about the impugned order dated 22.10.2024 (Annexure P-1), passed by learned JMIC, Rajpura, whereby he has been declared as a ‘proclaimed person’. It is submitted that the said impugned order (P-1) has been passed in a totally wrong and illegal manner and without compliance with the provisions of Section 84 of BNSS , 2023. In support of his contention, learned counsel refers to the zimni orders passed by the trial Court from time to time, which are appended along with the present petition.

Further submits that when the factum of declaring him as a ‘proclaimed person’ came to the knowledge of the petitioner, he immediately approached this Court by way of present petition.

Thus, learned counsel submits that in case one opportunity is granted for releasing the petitioner on bail, by protecting him from arrest, the petitioner undertakes that he shall not absent himself in future without prior permission from the Court, and shall fully cooperate for early disposal of the trial.

4. Notice of motion.

5. Learned State counsel puts an appearance, and opposes the request of the petitioner by submitting that petitioner does not deserve any sympathy, because, he knowingly evade the proceedings before the trial Court. Learned State counsel further submits that looking at his behaviour, there is no surety that in future, petitioner would not be absent for the purpose of delaying the trial.

6. In number of cases, wherein, accused stopped appearing in criminal cases, the Courts are compelled to declare accused as ‘Proclaimed Person/Proclaimed Offender’. After examining the facts, this Court has formulated a uniform method to ensure the presence of accused before the concerned Court, to enable it to proceed further instead of delaying the proceedings by awaiting the presence of accused.

Intentional or unintentional default of the accused can be dealt with by examining the facts from case to case involved, and where it is realised that absence or prolonged absence of such accused is intentional to evade the process of law, he/she can be penalized examining the nature of crime in which he is facing the proceedings and thereupon by imposing some cost amount subject to his/her capacity to pay.

Primary object of every Court is only to examine the commission of crime in question before it viz-a-viz the person/accused, who is subjected to such proceedings, and if possible justice be imparted at the earliest without unnecessary delay. It is not expected that undue time would be devoted in securing the presence of absconded accused and also to waste energy b