A Delhi court on June 9 adjourned the hearing of two criminal cases pending before a judicial magistrate. The court’s decision came after prosecutors in the two cases requested the transfer of the case, alleging bias in the trial and procedural errors.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Vijay Kumar Dahiya heard the two transfer petitions and issued a notice seeking comments in a sealed envelope from Judicial Magistrate Komal. The court directed that notice of the transfer application be sent to the respondent and further proceedings in the case of Rajesh Kumar Kaushik vs. Bipin Sharma and others in the lower court were adjourned till the next date of hearing.
The court directed that a copy of the transfer application be sent to the magistrate concerned. A petition was filed by Amit Saraogi, accused Advic Capital Ltd. vs. Fairplan Distributors Pvt. Ltd. and others. The second petition was filed by Dayanand Roy in the case of Rajesh Kumar Kaushik v. Bipin Sharma and others.
The petitioners alleged that the notices were sent to the accused before the process prior to issuance of summons was completed. They also claim that these issues have been raised at an unusual speed. The petitioners fear that they may not get a fair trial if the case continues to be heard in the same court. The petition also alleged that several cases involving businessman Vikas Garg and his companies were listed in the same court within a short period of time, increasing the risk of bias.
Without expressing an opinion on the merits of the complaint, the district judge submitted the lower court documents and stayed the proceedings in both cases until the next hearing date. The court issued notice to the defendants and fixed July 31 for the next hearing of these transfer applications.