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2016 Supreme(Online)(KER) 46976
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
B.KEMAL PASHA, J
CHINNAMMA – Appellant
Versus
STATE OF KERALA – Respondent
OP (CRIMINAL) 316/2016
The court has the authority to stay execution of warrants in light of ongoing proceedings regarding the transfer of cases for fair representation.
Headnote:
Representation - Court Jurisdiction - Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court - Non-Bailable Warrants - Transfer Petition - Execution Stay
Fact of the Case:
Petitioners sought to change their lawyer due to non-appearance and filed a transfer petition to relocate their cases from one court to another, citing external threats. Non-bailable warrants were issued against them for non-representation.
Issues: Whether the execution of non-bailable warrants should be stayed while the transfer petition is under consideration.
Ratio Decidendi: The court considered the implications of the petitioners' representation and external threats to their safety, balancing the need for legal proceedings with the rights of the petitioners.
Final Decision: Execution of non-bailable warrants is stayed until a decision is made on the transfer petition.
J U D G M E N T
Series of cases are there against the petitioners pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court-II, Kochi and the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Ernakulam. They had engaged a lawyer to represent them. The said lawyer did not appear in some of the cases and therefore, they wanted to change the vakkalath. As the earlier advocate was not ready and willing to relinquish the engagement, the petitioners filed an application for the said purpose before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Ernakulam, wherein some of such cases are pending. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate allowed the petition and permitted the petitioners to engage another lawyer.
Consequently, fresh vakkalaths were given to another advocate for the cases pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court.
2. The petitioners find it difficult to appear before the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court-II, Kochi, since there were serious threats against them from outsiders. Therefore, they want to get those cases transferred to the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Ernakulam or some other courts at Ernakulam, for which Ext.P1 transfer petition has been filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Ernakulam. In the mean time, due to non-representation of the earlier lawyer for the petitioners before the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court-II, Kochi, in C.C.No.1549/2015, non-bailable warrants were issued against the petitioners.
3. The learned Magistrate shall await the decision of the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, Ernakulam in Ext.P1 transfer petition, during which period, the execution of the non-bailable warrants issued against the petitioners shall stand stayed.
In the result, this O.P.(Crl.) is disposed of by directing the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court-II, Kochi not to cause the execution of the non-bailable warrants issued against the petitioners in C.C.No.1549/2015, till a decision is taken on Ext.P1 transfer petition by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate.
