The Delhi High Court has flagged serious judicial lapses, calling for action against a Magistrate and an Additional Sessions Judge at Rohini Courts for staying the arrest of a man even after both the High Court and the Supreme Court had rejected his anticipatory bail petitions.
Justice Girish Kathpalia said the conduct of the two judges violated core principles of judicial discipline.
“It appears to be a case of judicial indiscipline that the Judicial Magistrate First Class-04 and the Additional Sessions Judge-04, Rohini Courts, stayed the arrest of the accused despite prior dismissals of anticipatory bail applications by this court and the Supreme Court,” the judgment noted.
The court also criticized the prosecution and investigation team, suggesting that their role in the mishandling of information should be probed.
The order has been forwarded to the Delhi High Court Registrar General and the Police Commissioner for appropriate follow-up.
The ruling came while dismissing the fifth anticipatory bail application of Nikhil Jain, accused in a property fraud case involving forgery and cheating. Previous petitions, including appeals to the Supreme Court, had been rejected, yet interim protections by the Rohini judges allowed him to avoid arrest.
The High Court found that the Magistrate had prior knowledge of the rejected bail applications, and the ASJ had issued his order without verifying the status of earlier petitions or any change in circumstances. The bench noted that both judges could not credibly claim ignorance of the previous dismissals.
Consequently, the court called for disciplinary action against both judicial officers, reinforcing the expectation that judicial authority must align with higher court decisions and maintain procedural integrity.