Prosecution & Accused Has To Be Heard Before Scheduling Trial; Court Cannot Make A Unilateral Decision: Kerala HC
The Kerala High Court directed rescheduling of trial after noting that the Court did not hear the prosecution and accused before scheduling the date of trial.
The Court was hearing an Original Petition to set aside order passed by the Special Court for NDPS Act Cases and to reschedule the trial in the interest of justice.
The bench of Justice K. Babu relied on a Kerala High Court decision in Vishnu v. State of Kerala, where according to the Court it was held, “the prosecution and the accused have a role in fixing the date of trial and that the Court cannot make a unilateral decision regarding trial scheduling.”
Advocate K. Siju appeared for the Appellant and PP G. Sudheer appeared for the Respondent.
Brief Facts-
The Petitioner is accused in a case on the file of the Special Court (NDPS Act Cases). The Sessions Case was scheduled for trial on September 11, 2024. The Petitioner filed an application seeking adjournment of the trial stating the reason that his lawyer has inconvenience as he is engaged in the trial in another matter.
The Court said that the right of an accused to defend his case by engaging a counsel of his choice is a valuable right.
The Court observed, “A fair trial has a sacrosanct purpose. It has a demonstrable object that the accused should not be prejudiced.”
“Under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India, an accused person has been guaranteed the right to engage a counsel of his own choice. Section 303 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and Section 340, the corresponding provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, also give the right to the accused person to engage a counsel of his own choice.”, the Court observed.
The Court noted that the impugned order does not indicate that the Sessions Judge heard the prosecution and the accused before scheduling the trial.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the order and directed the learned Session Judge to reschedule the trial after hearing both sides.
Finally, the Court allowed the Original Petition.
Cause Title: Asanul Banna v. State of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:68788)
Appearance:
Appellant: Adv. K. Siju, Adv. S. Abhilash, Adv. Anjana Kannath and Adv. Maria Jose
Respondent: PP G. Sudheer