The Bombay High Court has issued a strong reprimand to a magistrate in Navi Mumbai for failing to expedite a dowry harassment trial, despite clear instructions issued in 2021. Justices A S Gadkari and Neela Gokhale criticized the magistrate for her “feeble” excuses and apparent disregard for the high court’s directives.
In an order dated August 9, the justices expressed their dissatisfaction with the magistrate’s lack of serious commitment to resolving the case, which involves a matrimonial dispute. The court highlighted that the magistrate had provided insufficient reasons for her inability to conclude the trial within the stipulated four-month period set by the High Court in February 2021.
The case came to the forefront again in 2024 when the accused man filed an application with the High Court, pointing out the ongoing delay in his trial. In response, the High Court requested a detailed report from the magistrate in July to understand the reasons for non-compliance with its earlier order. According to the report, which was only submitted in August, the magistrate claimed that she was unaware of the time-bound nature of the case due to an oversight by a clerk and cited a backlog of other long-standing cases as a contributing factor to the delay.
The magistrate also mentioned staffing issues as a barrier to meeting the High Court’s expectations and requested an additional six months to complete the trial. However, the High Court found these explanations unsatisfactory, noting that the magistrate had not taken adequate steps to prioritize and expedite the trial despite it being assigned to her in January 2023.
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As a result of these findings, the High Court has directed that the matter, including the magistrate’s report, be reviewed by its administrative committee to determine appropriate further actions.
