JAHID SHAIKH & ORS. versus STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR.

Citation: [2011] 10 S.C.R. 1 · Decided: 06-07-2011 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: ALTAMAS KABIR · Disposal: Disposed off

Cited by 2 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

[2011] 10 S.C.R. 1 
JAHID SHAIKH & ORS. 
v. 
STATE OF GUJARAT & ANR. 
(TRANSFER PETITION (CRL) N0.55 OF 2010) 
JULY 6, 2011 
[ALTAMAS KABIR AND CYRIAC JOSEPH, JJ.] 
A 
B 
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - s.406 - Bomb 
blasts - Sessions Ca,se pending before the Special Judge, 
Ahmedabad - Transfer petition - Prayer for transfer of the 
C 
Sessions Case for trial outside the State of Gujarat on ground 
of bias and vitiated communal atmosphere - Apprehension 
of the accused of being denied a free and fair trial within the 
State of Gujarat - Held: Absence of a congenial atmosphere 
for fair and impartial trial is a good ground for transfer of a D 
case out of a State - However, such a ground, cannot be the 
only aspect to be considered - In the instant case, the 
offences with which the accused have been charged are of a 
very serious nature, but the communally surcharged 
atmosphere which existed at the time of the alleged incidents, 
E 
has settled down considerably and is no longer as volatile as 
it was previously - Also, the Presiding Officers against whom 
bias had been alleged, will no longer be in charge of the 
proceedings of the trial - On the other hand, in case the 
Sessions Trial is transferred outside the State of Gujarat for F 
trial, the prosecution will have to arrange for production of its 
witnesses, who are large in number, to any venue that may 
be designated outside the State of Gujarat and prejudice may 
be caused to the prosecution in presenting its case - Case 
for transfer of trial outside-the State of Gujarat is based on 
G 
certain incidents which had occurred in the past - The main 
ground on which the Petitioners sought transfer is an 
apprehension that communal feelings may, once again, raise 
its ugly head and permeate the proceedings of the trial if it is 
conducted by the Special Judge, Ahmedabad - However, 
• 
H 
2 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2011) 10 S.C.R. 
A such a/legation is now more speculative than real, 
nevertheless in order to dispel the apprehension of the 
petitioners, liberty given to them that in the event their 
apprehension are proved to be real during the course of the 
trial, they will be entitled to move afresh before Supreme Court 
B for the relief sought for in the present Transfer Petition. 
FIRs were lodged with different Police Stations in the 
State of Gujarat in connection with the bomb blasts that 
occurred in 2008 in the cities of Ahmedabad and Surat. 
C The present Transfer Petition was filed under Section 406 
of CrPC for transfer of Sessions Case arising out of said 
FIRs and pending before the Special Judge, Ahmedabad, 
for trial outside the State of Gujarat on ground of bias and 
vitiated communal atmosphere. 
D 
In support of the Transfer Petition, it was inter alia 
submitted that the local police authorities, jail authorities 
and the public prosecutor had conducted themselves in 
a manner which reflected total bias and prejudice against 
the accused and the same created more than a 
E reasonable apprehension in their mind that they would 
not get a fair and free trial in the State of Gujarat; that 
charges were framed against the accused without 
supplying them with the essential documents required to 
be supplied under Section 207 of Cr.P.C.; that most of the 
F accused did not have access to all the police papers at 
the time of framing of charges against them; that those 
favoured with copies of the police papers were unable to 
understand the same, as they were in Gujarati- a language 
not known to most of the accused, most of them being 
G from outside the State of Gujarat; that the counsel for the 
accused were not permitted to meet their clients even for 
10 minutes in their Court chambers, without the police 
being present; that several affidavits had been filed by 
the relatives of the accused which revealed the severe 
physical torture inflicted on the accused which were 
H 
JAHID SHAIKH & ORS. v. STATE OF GUJARAT & 
3 
ANR. 
supported by medical reports of doctors who examined 
A 
the victims, but despite such evidence, the trial court did 
not order an independent probe into the incident; that in 
the event local communal feelings, which are borne out 
from the manner in which the accused were treated by 
the police, jail staff and the Courts are such that they B 
create an atmosphere which is not conducive to the 
holding of a fair trial, the cases should be transferred to 
a neutral location in the interest of justice and finally that 

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