SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Before:- N. Santosh Hegde and S.B. Sinha, JJ.

Criminal Appeal No. 172 of 2005 (Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 3777 of 2004). D/d. 24.1.2005.

Pal Singh and another - Appellants

Versus

Central Bureau of Investigation and others - Respondents

A. Criminal Procedure Code, Section 407 - Transfer of case to another court when 40 witnesses had already been examined and trial was at final stage - Transfer set aside.

[Para 3]

B. Criminal Procedure Code, Section 407 - Inter-State transfer of case - High Court not competent to make transfer of case from one State to another.

[Para 3]

Case Referred :-

CBI v. Tej Pal Bhatti, Case No. 87 of 2000.

ORDER

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. Leave granted.

3. By the impugned order the High Court of Uttaranchal has transferred Sessions Case No. 87 of 2000 CBI v. Tej Pal Bhatti which was pending in the Sessions Court, Ghaziabad, U.P. without even noticing whether the said High Court had any jurisdiction to make inter-State transfer. This ground alone would suffice to set aside the impugned order. That apart we have been informed that in the said trial about 40 witnesses have already been examined and about 15 more witnesses are left to be examined. Hence, trial is at the final stage. In the said view of the matter, we allow this appeal and set aside the impugned order of transferring the said case from the Court of Sessions Judge, Ghaziabad to the Court of Sessions Judge, Dehradun, U.P. If after transfer the records are received by the transferee court the said court forthwith retransfer the papers to the Court of Sessions Judge, Ghaziabad. On the receipt of the same, or if the papers have not already been transferred, the Court of Sessions Judge, Dehradun shall proceed to complete the trial in CBI v. Tej Pal Bhatti, Case No. 87 of 2000 expeditiously.

4. With the above observation this appeal is allowed.

Appeal allowed.