CRM No. M-21042 of 2009 1 IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. CRM No. M-21042 of 2009 (O&M) Date of decision: 4.8.2009 Harwinder Singh @ Harminder Singh ...Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJAN GUPTA Present: Mr. Arvind Kashyap, Advocate, for the petitioner. Rajan Gupta, J (Oral). This is a petition impugning the order dated 25th July, 2009 (Annexure P-3), passed by Sessions Judge in Transfer Application No.48 dated 17th February, 2009, Ludhiana, whereby he has transferred the trial of the three complaints filed by petitioner (respondent No.2 herein) from the court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate Samrala to the court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Khanna. Learned counsel for the petitioner has impugned the said order on the ground that no reasons have been assigned for passing the said order and that the court at Khanna has no territorial jurisdiction to try these cases. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner and given careful thought to the facts of the case. Admittedly, the distance between Samrala and Khanna is about 15 kilometers. The court below transferred the three complaints CRM No. M-21042 of 2009 2 from the court at Samrala to the court at Khanna on the ground that the complainant Kamaljit Kaur is a lady and wife of petitioner. She had preferred the petition for transfer on the ground that she had shifted her residence from village Pal Majra to Khanna due to the threats advanced by the petitioner and respondents No.3 to 7 who are his relatives. The Sessions Judge observed that the cases were being transferred because petitioner is a lady while the respondents are large in number. I do not find force in the contention of the learned counsel that the order passed, is arbitrary as the territorial jurisdiction is with the court where the complaints are, at present, pending. In view of the power vested in the Sessions Court under Section 408 Cr.P.C., there can be no doubt that the Sessions Judge has the power to transfer any particular case from one criminal court to another within his Sessions Division. For this purpose, the Sessions Judge may act either on the report of a lower court, its own initiation or an application of the interested party. I, thus, find no force in the argument of the learned counsel for the petitioner. There is no merit in the petition. Dismissed. (RAJAN GUPTA) JUDGE August 04, 2009 'rajpal'