Nithyakalyani Narayanan. V
The Delhi High Court has set aside a transit remand order, on realising that the case files were written in Marathi. The accused was arrested in Delhi by the Mumbai Police, for alleged cheating.
A vacation bench of the Delhi High Court had granted remand without even confirming that such an offence had taken place to allow transit remand.
Justice Jasmeet Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan ordered the Magistrate Court in Saket to hear the bail plea of the accused and determine as per merits. He had already been granted anticipatory bail by a court in Mumbai for the same case. The court was hearing a habeas corpus on his behalf.
The bench held that the court could have entertained the case, had the case been filed in Mumbai. The accused included Delhi Police and the Investigating Officer of Mumbai Police as the parties in his plea and requested the court to direct them to produce him before the court.
The Court held that “the Duty Magistrate should have seen the Case Diary (CD) and thereafter opined whether a case of transit remand has been made out. He further states that the Duty Magistrate could not have seen the Case Diary as it was in Marathi language and states that the order of transit remand is illegal and hence, the petition under habeas corpus”. The petition was disposed of.
Advocates Sahil Mongia, Prateek Mehta, Vikas, Rahul Yadav, Sahil Rao and Megha Mehta appeared for the petitioner and Advocate Sanjeev Bhandari and Additional Standing Counsel (ASC) with Kunal Mittal appeared for the respondents.
Name of the case: Rahul Lunia v. Government of NCT of Delhi and Ors.
Bench: Justice Jasmeet Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan