The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a judicial officer's plea challenging his suspension by the Patna High Court, presumably for delivering a series of quick judgements, including in a POCSO case where he concluded the trial in a single day.
A bench of Justices U U Lalit and S R Bhat issued notices, including to the State of Bihar, on the plea filed by Shashi Kant Rai, an additional district and sessions judge (ADJ) in Araria.
Rai has claimed in his plea that he "reasonably believes" there is an "institutional bias" against him as he concluded the trial in a POCSO (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) case involving the rape of a six-year-old girl in a single day.
He has cited another judgement where he awarded capital punishment to an accused in four working days of trial, and claimed these verdicts were widely reported in the media and appreciated by the Government and public alike.
"Issue notice returnable in two weeks," the bench ordered. "The response to the petition shall indicate the steps taken pursuant to the order of suspension which is presently under challenge and place all the concerned documents on record," the court said.
During the hearing, the bench observed there are several judgements of the apex court where it has said sentence should not be pronounced on the same day (after concluding the trial).
Justice Lalit recalled a judgement was rendered in a case where a person was given death sentence in a span of nine days and the top court set aside that order and sent the matter back to the sessions court for fresh trial.
"Because, according to us, this will be a travesty of justice that you are not even giving adequate notice, adequate opportunity to the person who is finally going to get death sentence," the bench said, adding the judgement was delivered in 2019.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Rai, said the petitioner was also denied promotion.