The Delhi High Court has observed that adverse judicial orders and alleged procedural irregularities, by themselves, cannot constitute legally sustainable grounds for transferring a criminal trial on the allegation of bias.

Justice Prateek Jalan was dealing with a petition filed by a complainant seeking transfer of a rape case registered in 2021 from the court of the Additional Sessions Judge presently hearing the case to another court.

The complainant alleged that the trial court had failed to appropriately address her grievances concerning the framing of charges, recording of her testimony, compliance with judicial directions and applications seeking addition of further charges and additional accused.

Rejecting the plea, the Court noted that the grievances raised by the petitioner essentially concerned adverse orders and alleged procedural irregularities in the proceedings.

It said that even assuming these allegations to be correct for the purposes of the transfer petition, they could not independently justify transferring the case.

“For such grievances, the appropriate judicial remedies are provided by statute, which have not been availed by the petitioner,” the Court said.

It further noted that the orders relied upon by the petitioner were passed by different judges and that the record did not disclose any material indicating extraneous influence, personal interest or predisposition on the part of the presiding judicial officer.

“In these circumstances, the allegations of bias are implausible, and would effectively allow the extraordinary power of transfer to be invoked in place of the statutory remedies available against unfavourable orders. Further, to accept such contentions would also blur the well-recognised distinction between judicial error and judicial bias,” the Court said.

Holding that the allegations did not meet the threshold for transferring the proceedings, the Court dismissed the petition.

It, however, clarified that the order would not prevent the complainant from seeking appropriate substantive reliefs available to her in accordance with law through properly constituted proceedings.