'District Judiciary Should Restrain From Passing Orders That May Bring Disrepute': Allahabad High Court Stays FIR Against CMO Running Covid Vaccination Service

A Division Bench of Justices Dr. Kaushal Jayendra Thaker and Ajit Singh has urged all the judges of the District Courts throughout the State of to be "more careful" and restrain themselves from passing such orders which may bring disrepute to the judicial system in the State more particularly during the ongoing period of pandemic.

The Judicial Officer had ordered for lodging of FIR against Dr. Hargovind Singh, who is the CMO running vaccination services during this pandemic of Covid-19, for allegedly issuing a false medical certificate to an MLA so that the MLA may avoid physical appearance before the Court in connection with a criminal case lodged against him.

The Division Bench found this action to be perverse on two counts:

(i) The Trial Judge, without any basis, declared the medical report to be false;

(ii) The Trial Judge's insistence on personal appearance of the MLA was in teeth of High Court's advisory in view of the pandemic.

"We are sorry to record it. Can we say that the insensitive judicial officer who has directed for lodgement of this First Information Report which is in the teeth of it can not stand to the judicial scrutiny of this Court?" the Bench observed at the outset.

It requested the Registrar General to remind the concerned judicial officer to abide by the guidelines of the High Court on Covid-19 pandemic in passing such orders in future.

The Bench said,

"Even if we do not mention here that the Registrar General had already issued directions to all the judicial officers throughout the State of Uttar Pradesh for not insisting on personal appearance of the accused or parties in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, still the accused M.L.A. was summoned but he sent a report that he had tested corona positive, which was not relied upon by the Trial Judge and considering that report to be false without any basis, instead ordered for registering an FIR against the petitioner/Chief Medical Officer."

It also took note of the Petitioner's submission that the report, perceived to be false by the Judicial Officer, was uploaded on the website of the UP Government and it could have been very well verified by the Judge.

In this view of the matter, the High Court has stayed the proceedings against Dr. Hargovind. It has also restrained any coercive action against other co-accused in this case, to avoid multiplicity of proceedings.

Case Title: Dr. Hargovind Singh v. State of UP & Ors.

Click Here To Download Order

Read Order