S.82 CrPC | Absconder Tag Can't Be Invoked Without Exhausting All Reasonable Steps To Secure Presence Of Accused: Rajasthan High Court

Granting relief to a man declared absconder in a cheque bounce case for irregular appearances and failing to follow bail conditions, Rajasthan High Court has said that the absconder tag cannot be invoked without following "all reasonable steps" to secure the accused's presence. In doing so the court granted the petitioner one more chance to appear and stayed the order issuing a permanent arrest warrant and initiating proceedings declaring him absconder, under Sections 82(Proclamation for person absconding) and 83(Attachment of property of person absconding) CrPC until then.The bench of Justice Farjand Ali opined that the trial court decision seemed 'hasty', without exhaustion of all reasonable and efficacious steps to secure accused's presence."While it is true that the petitioner remained irregular in attending the proceedings before the learned trial Court and failed to abide by the conditions of bail on more than one occasion, thereby inviting forfeiture of his bail bonds, yet the recourse to the extreme measure of declaring him an absconder appears to have been undertaken in a manner not entirely consonant with the procedural discipline mandated under law. The power to declare an accused as absconding is not merely administrative in character but is imbued with serious legal consequences, and therefore, its invocation must be preceded by demonstrable adherence to the safeguards envisaged under the Code.The record, prima facie, does not reflect that all reasonable and efficacious steps to secure the presence of the petitioner were exhausted before resorting to proceedings under Sections 82 and 83 Cr.P.C. The impugned order, thus, bears the imprint of procedural haste and does not adequately balance the necessity of securing the petitioner's presence with the imperative of ensuring fairness in the process". At the same time, the Court considered the delay caused by the petitioner owing to his actions of irregular appearances, and observed that the judicial process could not be permitted to be evaded by indifference of a litigant. In this background, the Court gave a final chance to the petitioner to submit to its jurisdiction while preserving the trial court's authority. Accordingly, in the peculiar facts of the case, the Court held that if the petitioner appeared before the Court on or before April 27, 2026, the order of the trial court initiating proceedings under Sections 82,83 CrPC along with arrest warrant against him shall stand dropped. Furthermore, on the same date of his appearance, the trial court shall release him on bail. The Court further directed that till the cut-off date, the petitioner shall not be arrested."It is made clear that the benefit of the aforesaid directions shall be available to the petitioner only upon his strict adherence to the timeline prescribed herein. In the event of default, it shall be open to the learned trial Court to proceed in accordance with law, without being inhibited by any observation made in this order," the court added.Title: Istikhar Khan v State of Rajasthan & Anr. Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 143Click Here To Read/Download Order

S.82 CrPC | Absconder Tag Can't Be Invoked Without Exhausting All Reasonable Steps To Secure Presence Of Accused: Rajasthan High Court

Nupur Agrawal

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