Jammu & Kashmir High Court – Srinagar Bench
Riyaz Ahmad Geelani vs Ut Through Additional Advocate General … on 7 March, 2025
Author: Rahul Bharti
Bench: Rahul Bharti
01
Regular
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT SRINAGAR
CRM(M) No. 77/2025
CrlM No. 157/2025
Riyaz Ahmad Geelani
..... Petitioner (s)
Through: Mr. Z A Qureshi, Sr. Adv.
with Ms. Rehana, Adv.
V/s
UT through Additional Advocate General and Ors.
..... Respondent(s)
Through:Mr. Satinder Singh Kala, AAG
Mr. Furqan Yaqoob, GA
Coram:
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rahul Bharti, Judge.
ORDER
07.03.2025
1. Heard Mr. Z A Qureshi, learned Senior Advocate appearing
on behalf of the petitioner and perused the petition and also
the annexures therewith.
2. Respondent No. 3-Saima Akbar is a complainant on whose
complaint the petitioner came to be booked in an FIR No.
15/2024 and latter on put up for trial under the Police
Report (Challan) No. 5/2025 by the Police Station
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CrlM No. 157/2025
Handwara for alleged commission of offences under sections
69 (Sexual Intercourse by deceitful means etc), 89 (Causing
Marriage without Women’s Consent), 351(2) (Criminal
Intimidation) under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
(BNSS), 2023.
3. The petitioner, being in custody firstly as an accused and
then later on as under-trial w.e.f 11.01.2025 and after having
suffered rejection of his bail applications on two occasions
from the criminal court below, has came forward invoking
inherent jurisdiction of this Court in terms of section 528 of
the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 for
seeking quashment of order dated 08.02.2025 passed by the
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Handwara whereby the
petitioner’s bail application came to suffer dismissal by
purported reasoning on the part of the Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Handwara as to effect that as the first bail
application stood rejected in terms of order dated 25.01.2025
passed by the Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Handwara so the
that filing of second bail application on the part of the
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CrlM No. 157/2025
petitioner without involving any substantial circumstantial
change in the investigation was misconceived
4. During the pendency of the present matter, an intervening
development has come to take place which is that the Police
Station Handwara has come forward with the production of
final police report (challan No. 05/2025) before the court of
Chief Judicial Magistrate, Handwara which is a good
enough change of circumstances with respect to the case
whereby the petitioner’s bail application, otherwise
dismissed in terms of the order, bearing head Note date
08.02.2025 and foot note date 08.02.2024, needs to be set
aside with a direction unto the Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Handwara that in case if the final police report (challan) is
pending adjudication before his court, then to restore and
rehear the bail application in light of the final police report
(challan) as submitted against the petitioner and to decide
the bail application on merits. If the final police report
(challan) has been transferred to the Court of Judicial
Magistrate 1st Class then to send the bail application to the
transferee court for needful adjudication.
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CrlM No. 157/2025
5. Accordingly, the petition is disposed of with a direction to
the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Handwara to rehear the bail
application of the petitioner in light of the final police report
(challan) presented in the matter and dispose of the bail
application within a period of 15 days from the date a
certified copy of this order is made available to him.
6. Before parting with this order, this Court puts a caution for
the notice of the Presiding Officer of the court of Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Handwara that mistakes obtaining with
respect to incorrect mention of dates is an embarrassment to
the judicial mind and authority as such like mistakes hint
towards non-application of the mind on the part of the
judicial officer while hearing and signing the judicial
order/s.
7. Disposed of.
(Rahul Bharti)
Judge
SRINAGAR
07.03.2025
Aasif