By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 20: The High Court of Meghalaya has set aside and quashed a judgement of the District Council Court, Shillong, that convicted two rape accused and sentenced them to seven-year imprisonment. The Court also directed the District Council Court to restart the trial in the case. The case dates back to 2004.
The Judge of the District Council Court (DCC), Shillong had passed the judgement against Nangroi Suting and Phlasstowell Kharbyngar on November 17 last year. However, aggrieved by the judgement, the duo had filed two separate appeals in the High Court.
R Majaw, the counsel for the appellants, submitted that the alleged victim had on November 9, 2004 lodged an FIR with the Madanrting Police Station stating that the convicts barged into her house the previous day and committed the crime.
Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under IPC Section 376. After the charge-sheet was filed on April 6, 2005, the case was taken up for trial by the Fast Track Court (FTC), Shillong. In due course, the statements of eight witnesses were recorded.
Later, the FTC court fixed the matter for examination of the accused persons under Section 313 CrPC before the passing of the final judgment and order.
It was at this point that the Judge of the FTC, relying on the judgment and order passed by the Gauhati High Court (Shillong bench) in 2009 wherein it was held that cases between two tribals should be tried by the District Council Court, transferred the case by an order issued on November 11, 2009.
The counsel for the appellants submitted that on receipt of the order of transfer, the DCC Judge by an order issued on November 22, 2011 directed that there will be a de novo (new) trial and accordingly, fixed the matter for consideration of charge.
However, the DCC Judge issued a modified order on September 29, 2016, directing that the matter would proceed from the stage where the Judge of FTC had reached when the matter was transferred.
In its order issued on Wednesday, the High Court said the fact that the DCC reviewed its own order is not permissible in the first place and without affording the parties to be heard in this connection would render the exercise carried out to be an irregular one which ought not to have been done so by the court.
“In any case, once it has been established that the FTC lacks jurisdiction to try the case, the same being transferred to the DCC, it is incumbent upon the DCC to restart the trial or take up the trial de novo,” the High Court said, while remanding the case to the DCC for retrial. However, considering that the matter is a long pending one, it directed the Judge to take it up on a priority basis with day-to-day trial to the extent possible.
“The case should be disposed of within a period of four months from the date of this order. The appellants/convicts are to be released from custody, but would be allowed to go on previous bail, if the same had been granted to them, if not, then fresh application of bail is required,” the order further said.