The Allahabad High Court has directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Sant Kabir Nagar to reevaluate the decision to accept the chargesheet filed against Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad and Dr. Ayub of the Peace Party. The order, issued by Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, calls for a fresh adjudication on the matter which was initially recognized a year after the chargesheet’s submission, a delay that has been contested in the High Court.
Previously, the High Court had sought an explanation from the District Judge of Sant Kabir Nagar after repeated rejections of the chargesheet by the CJM’s clerk. The District Judge reported that the chargesheet had been accepted on the day it was presented by the police advocate, which contradicts earlier claims of delay.
The Government Advocate, Vikas Sahay, argued that sufficient documentary evidence exists to justify the delay in filing and acknowledging the chargesheet, thereby empowering the CJM court under Section 473 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to excuse the delay.
The case pertains to charges filed against Azad and Dr. Ayub under the Disaster Management Act, the Epidemic Diseases Act, among others, on February 21, 2022. The court noted that the chargesheet was recognized one year, five months, and twenty days after filing, whereas the norm requires acknowledgment within six months. The High Court has thus remitted the case back to the CJM of Sant Kabir Nagar, instructing a new order to be passed in light of these circumstances.
