“We strongly condemn this conduct of Sudhir Pawar and find the conduct of the registry of the said court disgraceful. It clearly amounts to interference in the smooth administration of criminal justice. It also appears to us that the presiding judicial officer has no control over her court and, therefore, her role also needs to be examined by the principal district judge,” stated Justices Ajay Gadkari and Neela Gokhale in their June 13 order.
MUMBAI: Recently, the Bombay High Court ordered the principal district judge of Thane to conduct a detailed inquiry into the administration and functioning of the juvenile court in Bhiwandi. This order comes after a clerk, Sudhir Pawar, refused to accept a chargesheet and insisted on the presence of the juvenile in conflict with the law.
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“We strongly condemn this conduct of Sudhir Pawar and find the conduct of the registry of the said court disgraceful. It clearly amounts to interference in the smooth administration of criminal justice. It also appears to us that the presiding judicial officer has no control over her court and, therefore, her role also needs to be examined by the principal district judge,” stated Justices Ajay Gadkari and Neela Gokhale in their June 13 order.
On December 13, 2023, the High Court permitted police to file the chargesheet as soon as possible on completing the investigation of a juvenile’s plea for quashing the FIR. On April 8, the investigating officer (IO) was granted permission to file the chargesheet without requiring the juvenile’s presence.
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However, on June 11, the prosecutor informed the judges that the IO was obstructed from filing the chargesheet despite two High Court orders. The judges noted that the April 8 order clearly instructed the juvenile court’s staff and the presiding officer to accept the chargesheet without the juvenile present. They directed the IO to file an affidavit to place the facts on record.
The judges stated that the IO’s affidavit was clear and required no further explanation, indicating that Pawar had blatantly flouted High Court orders.
“He has displayed total disregard for our orders. It is unfortunate that the presiding officer of that court, Seema Ghute, is either oblivious or has feigned deliberate ignorance,” they added.
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Before passing further orders and initiating contempt of court actions, the judges ordered an inquiry. They directed that the inquiry be completed within a week, with the report submitted by June 26.
They also granted the principal district judge the liberty to suspend Pawar during the inquiry and adopt any other appropriate legal remedies to complete the inquiry expeditiously.
