During the hearing of a case related to money laundering, the judge merely uttered, “ED Matters main koun sii bail hoti Hai,” which translates into “who gets bail in matters pertaining to ED?” The accused demanded a change of judge, after which Session Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna transferred the case to Special Judge (PC Act) Jagdish Kumar from the court of Special Judge (PC Act) Mukesh Kumar.
In the same case, on June 3, the Principal District and Sessions Judge of the Rouse Avenue Court dismissed the petition demanding Bhushan’s transfer.
Facts of the Case
This case is related to a bail petition filed by Ajay S. Mittal, who is accused in a money laundering case. The case came into controversy after the hearing on April 10 before Judge Kumar. On that date, the lawyer requested time for preparation, and the case was adjourned until April 25.
Mittal’s wife, who is herself an accused in this case, was present during the proceedings, and once the lawyer left the courtroom, it was allegedly heard by the judge from court staff, “Where is the question of bail in ED cases?”
As a result, Ajay Mittal filed a transfer petition before the District and Sessions Court, apprehending bias on the part of Judge Kumar in dealing with the case. On May 1, Chief District Judge Chandna ordered the transfer of the case from Judge Kumar to Special Judge Mukesh Kumar. Subsequently, ED challenged this transfer in the High Court.
High Court’s Observation
Then, on May 28, Justice Swarn Kant Sharma of the High Court said that there was no need to transfer the case from the judge because it was not apparent from the judge’s comments that he was inclined towards the ED. Furthermore, the High Court stated that conversations between judges and their court staff are confidential. After this sequence of events, the District Court has now dismissed Ajay Mittal’s transfer plea and assigned the case back to Judge Kumar.
