Popular among users for its ease and speed, instant messaging service WhatsApp caused raised eyebrows in the Supreme Court this week when it was informed that a criminal case was conducted via the service.

The case, involving a former Jharkhand minister Yogendra Sao and his MLA wife Nirmala Devi, saw a lower court judge in Hazaribagh putting the accused on trial by pronouncing the order framing charges against them through a ‘WhatsApp’ call.

Accused in a rioting case of 2016, Mr Sao and Ms. Nirmala were granted bail last year by the Supreme Court which however, imposed a condition that the couple should not enter Jharkhand except for attending court proceedings.

Both the accused informed the court that the trial judge had on April 19 this year framed charges against them through a ‘WhatsApp’ call despite their objections.

A bench comprising Justices S.A. Bobde and L. N. Rao took serious note of the submissions and said, “What is happening in Jharkhand? This process cannot be allowed, and we cannot allow administration of justice to be brought into disrepute”.

“We are here on the way of trial being conducted through WhatsApp. What kind of a trial is this? Is this a kind of joke?” the Bench asked the counsel appearing for Jharkhand.

The Bench issued notice to Jharkhand on the plea by both the accused, who have sought transfer of their cases from Hazaribagh to New Delhi, and asked the State to respond within two weeks.

Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for the couple, said the accused were granted bail on December 15, 2017 by the apex court in the case and they were directed to stay in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh as a bail condition.

“The trial was directed to be conducted through video conferencing from district court in Bhopal and district court in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand,” he said.

Tankha said that video conferencing connectivity was most of the times “very low” in Bhopal and Hazaribagh district courts and the April 19 order was pronounced by the trial judge through ‘WhatsApp’ call.

The bench asked Tankha as to how many cases were pending against both the accused.

Tankha said that 21 cases were pending against Sao, while nine cases were pending against his wife.

“They are both politicians and have led various protests against land acquisition by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Jharkhand and most of these cases relate to those agitations,” he said.

Tankha said that since both the them were lawmakers at the time of filing of these cases, the trial in these matters should be transferred to the special court in Delhi which is exclusively dealing with cases involving politicians.

Both Devi and Sao were accused in the case relating to violent clashes between villagers and police in 2016 in which four persons were killed. Sao had become a minister in the Hemant Soren government in August 2013.

According to police, Devi had led an agitation against NTPC authorities for their alleged attempt to forcefully evacuate villagers from Barkagaon without giving them due compensation or rehabilitation.

Source : Click Here