REGISTRAR GENERAL, HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS versus THE STATE, REPRESENTED BY THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE, CENTRAL CRIME BRANCH, CHENNAI & ANOTHER

Citation: [2022] 1 S.C.R. 715 · Decided: 23-02-2022 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: M.R. SHAH, B.V. NAGARATHNA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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[2022] 1 S.C.R. 715
715
REGISTRAR GENERAL,
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
v.
THE STATE, REPRESENTED BY THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE,
CENTRAL CRIME BRANCH, CHENNAI & ANOTHER
(Criminal Appeal Nos. 272-274 of 2022)
FEBRUARY 23, 2022
[M. R. SHAH AND B. V. NAGARATHNA, JJ.]
Land Grabbing: Transfer of 864 cases pending in civil courts
to the jurisdictional courts – Original complainant in case pending
on the file of the Special Court for Land Grabbing Cases, filed
petition before the High Court, seeking transfer of the said case
from the Special Court to the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate –
Allowed/disposed of, by the High Court – Thereafter, on ‘mentioning’
made by the Additional Public Prosecutor in the said disposed of
petition, the Single Judge of the High Court directed transfer of 82
and 782 cases/final reports filed respectively, pending on the files
of the Special Courts to the jurisdictional Courts – In the said orders,
no proceedings were pending before the Single Judge, and none of
the parties to the cases ordered to be transferred were parties before
the High Court – Sustainability of – Held: Not sustainable – It cannot
be understood, how in a disposed of matter with respect to only one
case, further orders could have been passed by the High Court
transferring approximately 864 cases pending in different Special
Courts in different districts, to the concerned jurisdictional Courts
that too, on a ‘special mentioning’ – Said procedure adopted by the
Single Judge is unknown to law – Practice of passing such orders
on a ‘special mentioning’ that too, in a disposed of matter is
deprecated – Impugned judgment and orders passed by the Single
Judge of the High Court directing transfer of 864 cases from the
Special Courts to the jurisdictional Magistrates, being wholly
without jurisdiction, are quashed and set aside – However, would
be subject to the decision of this Court in the pending proceedings
against the order by the High Court quashing the Government Order
creating Anti Land Grabbing Special Cells, which was stayed by
this Court, whereby the jurisdiction of the Special Courts to deal
with the Land Grabbing Cases continues – Judicial deprecation.
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 1 S.C.R.
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: s. 482 – Power of High
Courts under – Held: Though the powers of the High Court u/s.
482 are wide and are in the nature of inherent power yet, the said
power cannot be exercised suo motu in a sweeping manner and
beyond the contours of what is stipulated under the said Section –
High Courts need to be more circumspect before passing such
orders.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
Nos. 272-274 of 2022.
From the Judgment and Order dated 05.08.2019, 27.08.2019 and
29.08.2019 of the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Crl. OP
No.20889 of 2019.
V. Krishnamurthy, AAG, R. Shunmugasundaram, Adv. General,
Dr. Ram Sankar, K. Elangovan, L.
Sivakumar, Sharu Kumar, Suvethan, Ms. Sujatha Bagadhi, Ms.
Shaarumathi, Yusuf, B. Balaji, Dr. Joseph Aristotle S., Ms. Preeti Singh,
Ms. Nupur Sharma, Sanjeev Kumar Mahara, S. Thananjayan, Ms. Aaina
Verma, Ms. Jaswanthi Anbuselvam, Ms. Promila, K. S. Mahadevan,
Rangarajan, Ms. Swati Bansal, Rajesh Kumar, E. C. Agrawala, T. R. B.
Sivakumar, B. Sridhar, Venkateswara Rao Anumolu, S. Gowthaman, R.
Nedumaran, K. V. Jagdishvaran, Ms. N. P. Haibila, Ms. G. Indira, Anish
R. Shah, M. P. Srivignesh, Mithunkumaar N., Jose Abraham, Advs. for
the appearing parties.
The following Order of the Court was passed :
ORDER
1. Application for permission to file the special leave petitions is
allowed. Delay in filing the special leave petitions is condoned.
1a. Leave granted.
2. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned final
judgment and orders dated 05.08.2019, 27.08.2019 and 29.08.2019 passed
by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Criminal O.P. No. 20889/
2019, by which the learned Single Judge of the High Court has directed
to transfer 864 cases in which the final reports have been filed before
the concerned Special Courts for Land Grabbing Cases pending in various
districts and has directed the concerned Special Courts before whom
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the final reports are filed to return back the final reports filed by the
concerned investigating officers of the respective police stations in order
to enable those final reports to be filed before the concerned jurisdictional
Courts, the High Court of Judicature at Madras t
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