Remarks on judge to stay: Kerala High Court

Kochi: The Kerala High Court disposed the plea of a Sessions Judge seeking to expunge remarks against him. The Court held that the remarks were made only to send a clear signal that a judicial officer engaged in criminal trial should know the scope of the statements recorded under Section 161 CrPC. The Court pointed out that it had extracted certain paragraphs from the judgment of the trial Judge (petitioner) to show that in fact he had relied on the statements of witnesses recorded by police under Section 161 Cr.P.C. for basing the conviction. We frowned upon that practice as it is prohibited by law.

A Division Bench of the court issued the order while disposing off the petition filed by E. Baiju, the then Thalassery Additional Sessions Court (Adhoc II) and presently the Registrar, Kerala Administrative Tribunal (District judge on deputation). The Bench had made remarks against the Sessions Judge while acquitting four RSS/BJP activists who were accused persons in the murder of CPM worker Areekkal Asokan. The Bench had held that Sessions Judges handling cases involving death penalty or life imprisonment should be sober in their judicial functions. The judges are expected to know the rudimentary principles of substantive and procedural laws for conducting a fair trial.

Every accused has a right to get a fair trial under the Constitution, for which legal acumen and sobriety of Judges are essential qualities. Otherwise the justice delivery system will be a casualty. The Bench observed that there was nothing personally castigating the judicial officer and made it clear that no observation in the judgment was intended to affect the career advancement of the petitioner. But they were made only to inform and educate the judicial officers.