Allahabad High Court Ruled : Transfer Of Criminal Case : Along With The Convenience Of Victim, Convenience Of Accused And Prosecution Also Need To Be Considered

Recently, the Allahabad High Court has ruled that before making any decision regarding the transfer of a criminal case, the court must consider not only the convenience of the applicant/ informant/victim, but also the convenience of the accused and prosecution.

The Bench of Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery cited a recent Allahabad High Court ruling in the case of Shailendra Kumar Prajapati vs. State of U.P. and another [Transfer Application (Criminal) No. 285 of 2021]. 

The Allahabad High Court ruled in the Shailendra Kumar Prajapati case that an applicant’s mere assertion that justice is likely to be denied cannot be used to transfer a criminal case. Instead, the Court must decide whether the apprehension is reasonable and not speculative and based on conjecture and speculation. 

The bench was dealing with a transfer application filed on behalf of the Complainant/First Informant (wife of Opposite Party No. 2) to transfer a criminal case registered under Sections 498A, 323, 504, 506, 354, 328 IPC and 3/4 Dowry Prohibition Act from District Court Varanasi to District Court Jaunpur. 

It was argued that Respondent had already filed two cases (one under the Domestic Violence Act and another Under Section 125 Cr.P.Code) at District Court Jaunpur and that, as a lady, it would be extremely inconvenient for her to travel about 80 kilometres from Jaunpur to Varanasi on each and every date when the case is listed. 

In light of this, and drawing on the case of Shailendra Kumar Prajapati, the Court said that this is a criminal case in which not only the convenience of the applicant/ complainant /informant/ victim must be considered, but also the convenience of the accused and prosecution.

The Court added that because this is a criminal case, the prosecution is the State, and the applicant/victim is represented by a Public Prosecutor, with the Advocate hired by the applicant serving only to assist the Public Prosecutor. 

As a result, given the issue of convenience, the Court did not believe it is a suitable case for transfer.

Case :- TRANSFER APPLICATION (CRIMINAL) No. - 316 of 2021