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The Allahabad High Court has recently directed the Registrar General of the High Court to issue a circular/ memorandum to all the District Judges in the State of Uttar Pradesh intimating them to inform all the Judicial Officer to not use "Printed Proforma" in passing the Judicial Orders.

The bench of Justice Brij Raj Singh was hearing an application filed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code for quashing of a charge sheet as well as cognizance order pending in the Court of Civil Judge (Junior Division)/ Judicial Magistrate, Jhansi.

The counsel for the applicants had alleged that the entire prosecution story was false and they had been falsely implicated in the present case. He had said that the charge sheet and cognizance taken by the court below on the printed proforma, was without application of mind and the same was not sustainable in the eyes of law.

Referring to a plethora of judgments of the top court, Court said, "the conduct of the judicial officers concerned in passing orders on printed proforma by filling up the blanks without application of judicial mind is objectionable and deserves to be deprecated."

Noting that the order of cognizance being taken passed by the court below was cryptic, Court observed, 

"The cognizance/summoning of an accused in a criminal case is a serious matter and the order must reflect that Magistrate had applied his mind to the facts as well as law applicable thereto."

Therefore, Court held that the order under challenge was against the settled judicial norms and the Magistrate had failed to exercise the jurisdiction vested in him resulting in miscarriage of justice.

Accordingly, allowing the instant application, Court quashed the cognizance order and directed the Civil Judge (Junior Division)/Judicial Magistrate to decide afresh the issue for taking cognizance and summoning the applicants within a period of two months from the date of production of a copy of this order.

However, before parting with the matter, Court asked a copy of the instant order to be placed before the Registrar General of the Court within a week for issuance of circular/ memorandum in pursuance of Court's abovesaid directions. 

Case Title: Akhtar Khan And 2 Others v. State of U.P. and Another