As repeated cases of listing of second bail applications by the same person before different benches has come to light, the Allahabad High Court has directed inquiry against officers of National Informatics Centre at the High Court.

A Single Bench of Justice Samit Gopal passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Sajjan Kumar.

The Court noted that,

On 26.09.2023 the following order was passed by the Court:-

“List revised. No one appears on behalf of the applicant to press this bail application. D.N Mishra, counsel for the State is present. Nitinjay Pandey and Upendra Upadhyay, counsels for the first informant are also not present even when the matter has been taken up in the revised list.

This is a second bail application.

The matter is listed in the additional/unlisted-1 list today. The Bench Secretary informs the Court that the list and file has reached the Court during lunch hours. It appears that due to the said reason, there might be possibility that learned counsels for the parties may not have got information about the matter being listed today.

The records show that the first bail application was rejected by the Court vide order dated 9.7.2020. The order sheet shows that the matter was being listed before this Court regularly on 8.2.2021, 13.9.2021, 30.11.2021, 18.10.2022 and 24.11.2022. The matter then appears to be listed before another Bench of the Court on 14.09.2023. There is an office report dated 26.9.2023 that the matter is to be listed before the Court.

The Registrar Listing of the Court to give a report within three days as to how the matter was listed before another Bench on 14.9.2023.

Let the matter be listed on 04.10.2023.”

On October 04, the Court observed that perusal of the report goes to show that a particular ID has been used for a feeding in the computer which is not on the basis of any order passed in the matter. Subsequently it appears that after the previous order the said entry has been changed by the user of the same ID.

The Court stated that it is really surprising to note that once an entry is made in the computer, how the same after passage of sufficient time is changed. The same appears to be with the nod of the concerned persons of N.I.C, High Court, Allahabad. The report further states that there have been four other instances done from the same ID by which matters have been marked in other Courts without any order.

In view of the above, the Court directed the Registrar General of the Court to conduct a detailed enquiry as per rules and take appropriate action against the delinquent persons. The Registrar General shall also ensure that the persons found involved in the matter as per the report of the J.R (J) (Listing) are kept away from having access to the computer system so that further mischief is avoided. The said enquiry be concluded within four weeks positively and its report be placed before this Court in Chambers at 4:00 pm on 07.11.2023.

The Court said that the inquiry Officer shall also inquire regarding the role of the concerned persons of N.I.C, High Court, Allahabad as the fact which appears from the enquiry report goes to show that the feeding once done has been changed without any judicial order or administrative order which cannot be permitted to be done in any manner. It is not permissible at all. This thus brings the system in N.I.C also suspect.

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