Meerut: Allahabad High Court had last week directed Meerut SSP, BBGTS Murthy, to remain standing in the courtroom for 45 minutes until 4 pm on Saturday, holding the officer responsible for failing to produce an accused person against whom a non-bailable warrant (NBW) had been issued.
Appearing in person, SSP Murthy submitted that he was on leave from Sept 28 to Oct 2 and had instructed his subordinates to execute the warrant upon his return on Oct 3. The HC subsequently issued an NBW, directing the police to produce the accused on Sept 28. it emphasised that as head of the district police force, the SSP was duty-bound to ensure court directives were properly executed While the bench acknowledged that the failure might have stemmed from subordinate negligence. Expressing strong displeasure over the lapse, HC also reprimanded the CJM and called for administrative action against the magistrate. When the accused failed to honour his commitment, the woman approached HC seeking cancellation of his bail. Following non-compliance with the order, the court directed the Meerut SSP to appear personally.
Instead of presenting the accused before the HC as directed, police produced him before the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court in Meerut, which remanded him directly to jail.
The accused had initially been granted bail on March 18 after promising to marry the victim.