HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G.BHAVANI PRASAD Transfer Criminal Petition No.70 of 2009 Dated : 25.08.2009 Between : Pandita Koteswara Rao ….. Petitioner a n d The State of A.P. and another ….. Respondents HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G.BHAVANI PRASAD Transfer Criminal Petition No.70 of 2009 ORDER: Heard Sri V.R.Avula, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Sai Gangadhar Chamarthy, learned counsel for the second respondent, and Sri A.Ramesh, learned counsel representing the learned Public Prosecutor for the first respondent. The petitioner is facing prosecution in S.C.No.187 of 2008 on the file of the Assistant Sessions Judge, Machilipatnam, Krishna District, for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 354 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and the second respondent herein happens to be the defacto complainant/victim. The petitioner alleges that when he went to attend the Court on 30.03.2009, the father and maternal uncle of the second respondent along with four others threatened to kill him demanding to hand over the photographs and letters evidencing his intimacy with the second respondent. He claims that he went away even without attending before the Court to save his life, due to which, a non-bailable warrant was issued by the Court due to his non- appearance. The petitioner further claims to have lodged a complaint before the Station House Officer concerned with a copy to the Superintendent of Police, Krishna District, on which no action was taken. Therefore, apprehending danger to his life, he sought for transfer of the case to any Court in the Metropolitan Sessions Division, Vijayawada. Without going into the truth or otherwise of the alleged incidents claimed by the petitioner, if the allegations have any semblance of truth, the apprehensions of the petitioner about the possible danger to his life cannot be rejected as unfounded. At the same time without indulging in any deep probe into the said allegations, if the petitioner were to be directed to bear the expenses of all the witnesses for the prosecution when attending the Court at Vijayawada, he would be paying the expenses to be incurred by the prosecution due to the transfer in question. There can be no serious objection for transfer of the case to Vijayawada subject to such condition in view of the proximity between Machilipatnam and Vijayawada and the convenient means of communication between the two places. Therefore, S.C.No.187 of 2008 on the file of the Assistant Sessions Judge, Machilipatnam, Krishna District, is transferred to the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Vijayawada, Krishna District, for trial and determination in accordance with law and the petitioner herein shall bear the travel expenses, daily allowances and other sums payable to L.Ws.1 to 6 cited in the charge sheet and he shall also pay such travel expenses, daily allowance and other expenses payable to one attendant accompanying L.W.1 at the time of her giving evidence in the said case. The non-bailable warrants issued against the petitioner in S.C.No.187 of 2008 are recalled and he shall forthwith appear before the Court of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Vijayawada, Krishna District, and continue to appear before the said Court on the further dates of hearing as directed by the said Court. The criminal petition is ordered accordingly. ______________________ G.BHAVANI PRASAD, J 25th August, 2009 SUR