Srinagar: High Court of J&K and Ladakh has ruled that exchange of some hot words between Court and counsel is no ground for seeking transfer of a case even as it underscored that Bench and Bar are two wheels of the chariot of justice and no one is superior to the other.
Upholding an order of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Srinagar by virtue of which it declined transfer of a domestic violence case over exchange of harsh words during the proceedings between the trial Magistrate and the counsel, a bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar said merely because the Magistrate has failed to dispose of the application of the petitioners is not a ground to transfer the case.
“It is also not a ground for transfer of a case if there is exchange of some hot words between the Court and the counsel” Court said.
The Court expunged “sweeping remarks” against the lawyers by the CJM Srinagar that the “advocates level unnecessary allegations against the Judicial Officers in order to facilitate their personal convenience”. “There may be stray incidents where the advocates have resorted to leveling of allegations against the Judicial Officers in order to seek transfer of their cases from one Court to other to suit their convenience, but then this cannot be generalized,” the bench said.
Observing that the advocates are the officers of the Court and deserve the same respect and dignity as is being given to the Judicial Officers and Presiding Officers of the Courts, the Court said :“Bench and Bar are two wheels of the chariot of justice”. “Both are equal and no one is superior to the other”.
Observing that the remarks of the CJM Srinagar deserve to be expunged, the court said the members of the Bar deserve the utmost respect and dignity. “There may be some rotten apples in the profession, as is true of every profession, but to say that the advocates generally adopt these tactics is not the correct position,” it said.
The court noted that the CJM rightly declined to transfer the proceedings from the Court of trial Magistrate saying there could be no doubt that the grounds urged by the petitioners for seeking transfer of their case from the Court of trial Magistrate to any other Court of competent jurisdiction were not cogent.
“Thus the decision of Chief Judicial Magistrate Srinagar to decline the transfer of the matter from the trial Magistrate is legally correct and cannot be interfered with,” Court said.
The Court however said the sweeping remarks that had been made by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, were uncalled for and unnecessary for the decision of the case.