Transferred Judge changes date of order over telephone !

Akela

IN an order passed by the High Court Bombay, Justice M.L. Tahiliyani has permitted the cross examination of the Judge from Bandra Metropolitan Court who changed the Date of the Order over the telephone despite he was transferred few days earlier. The Judge will stand in the witness box at Bandra Court on Thursday, January15, 2015.

The Judge identified as Mr. Shailesh S. Deshpande. Mr. Deshpande was posted as a Magistrate at 12th, Metropolitan Magistrate Court Bandra, Mumbai and at present he is as Officer on Special Duty (Court Receiver) in Bombay High Court.

The Story

The complainant Navnit K. Mehta (74) is a director of a company Panthon Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. having head office at Santacruz (west), Mumbai. There are some disputes and differences between Mehta and Alnoor Hassanali Jamal (61) an African National and Director and shareholder of Mehta’s company. He is a foreigner and is a wanted accused by Mumbai Police. A lookout notice has been issued against him. He is presently out of India avoiding arrest by Mumbai Police.

Mehta and Jamal have made several complaints and allegations against each-other in police and as well as in court. In this series on March 4, 2013 Mr. Deshpande has passed an order into a matter which was tampered, altered and changed to order dated March, 8, 2013 at the telephonic instruction of the Judge.

Mr. Deshpande was transferred and took charge as Court Receiver in Bombay High Court on 11th March, 2013 and his court was vacant during the period March 9, 2013 till the first week of June 2013, when the order was changed.

Smelling something fishy into the matter Mehta filed a complaint (No. CC/284/SW/2013) before 32ndMetropolitan Magistrate Court at Bandra for offences under sections 466, 471, 464, 465, 468, 167, 192, 193, 196, 469, 474, R/W 120-B of IPC against Alnoor Jamal, his advocates Ms. Fereshte Sethna of Vodafone fame, Ms. Preeti Salaskar, Aagam Doshi, Shantanu Singh and Judicial Clerk B.T. Shirke of the 12th Court at Bandra. Mehta complained to court that the accused persons as complainant, his advocates and judicial clerk had acted in collusion and conspiracy and forged, tampered and altered the order dated March 4, 2014 passed by the 12th court into order dated March 8, 2013. Mehta demanded punishment against accused persons.

On November 20, 2013, summon was issued to Mr. Shailesh Deshpande to appear in court and on January 18, 2014 he appeared in court and recorded his statement in open court. He stated that he had instructed judicial clerk over telephone to correct the Date of Order as per the record. Justifying their side Mr. Shailesh Deshpande said that stenographer had typed the Date of Order as March 4, 2013 and considering that date after putting my signature I put the date below my signature as March 4, 2013 as it was not possible for me to remember all the dates of order which I had already passed.

When Mehta’s advocates asked permission to cross-examine Mr. Deshpande the 32nd, Metropolitan Magistrate Mr. Ambatkar rejected the application citing that he was a court witness in enquiry u/s 202 CrPc.

On January 6, 2015 Bombay High Court Justice Mr. M L Tahaliyani passed order accepting Mehta’s plea (copy available with ABI) and held that cross the order passed by the learned Magistrate was erroneous and permitted cross-examination of the Court Witness Mr. S.S. Deshpande.

On January 15, 2015 Mr. Shailesh Deshpande will stand in witness box and will be cross-examined in Bandra Court.

“This is true that Mr. Shailesh Deshpande will stand in witness box and will be cross-examined by our lawyer,” said Mehta.