The Allahabad High Court has directed the District Judge concerned to issue standing directions to peshkars/readers, who write the order-sheet, to the effect that the order should be written in a manner that can be read clearly.
The Division Bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Savita Yadav.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner being a complainant of the case crime in question has been suffering a lot. Under the compelling circumstances, she filed an FIR in 2018. Since then, despite her co-operation for the trial proceedings, the trial is not running properly.
Since the private-respondents were avoiding the trial proceedings, therefore, the warrants were issued against them and they surrendered before the trial court on April 30, 2019.
Therefore, counsel has requested that considering the plight of the petitioner, who is a woman, the direction for early disposal of the trial of the aforesaid criminal case be issued to the court below.
“I have seen the certified copy of the order-sheet, which has been enclosed with the petition, and find that some of the orders have been written in too bad handwriting to read properly. As a matter of fact, some orders, more particularly the order dated January 15, 2021, cannot be read,” the court observed.
“Since the typed copy of the order/ orders of the courts below is filed before the High Court or Supreme Court, therefore, that order must be legible so that it could be correctly typed and brought before the Superior Courts. There must be the bounded duty of the Peshkars/ Readers to write down the order in a legible manner, failing which, it may be treated as misconduct.”
“Therefore, if the order is written in the order-sheet in a manner which is unable to be read, the erring official should be issued an explanation and thereafter he may be punished departmentally, as per law,” the Court said.
The Court stated that such directions are issued not only for the District Judge, Barabanki but for all the District Judges of the State of Uttar Pradesh to issue such directions in terms of the order.
“The senior registrar of the Court shall circulate the order to all the District Judges of State of Uttar Pradesh including the District Judge, Barabanki for its strict compliance. So far as the prayer of the case is concerned, I hereby dispose of the petition finally at the admission stage directing the trial court i.e. the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Barabanki to expedite the proceedings and conclude the trial of Case under Sections 498-A, 323, 504 & 506 I.P.C. and Section 3/4 of Dowry Prohibition Act with expedition preferably within a period of nine months from the date of receipt of a certified/ computerized copy of the order,” the order reads.