‘No Judge Would Dare Against Mighty Bureaucrats’: Begusarai Judge Alleges Case Was Pulled After He Moved Against DM, SP

In a rare and strongly worded order, a Begusarai judge has alleged that an ongoing execution case was abruptly taken away from his court just as he was moving forward with contempt proceedings against the district’s top bureaucrats, raising questions about judicial independence and equal treatment before the law.

The controversy erupted in the Begusarai district judiciary after Additional District Judge-III Brajesh Kumar Singh passed an order stating that his case file was suddenly “recalled” by the Principal District & Sessions Judge (PDSJ) soon after he recommended contempt action against the District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP) for failing to respond to court-issued notices.

The matter pertains to an execution case of 2024, filed by a resident, Manish Kumar. On 14 October 2025, Judge Singh had directed contempt proceedings against the DM and SP, noting that both officers had repeatedly failed to comply with the court’s directions to submit their show-cause responses. While the SP filed a brief reply stating that he preferred to submit a detailed response directly before the Patna High Court, the DM did not file anything at all.

As a result, the judge forwarded the matter to the Registrar General of the Patna High Court, recommending that contempt proceedings be initiated against both officers.

But before the file could proceed further, another development occurred. On 15 November 2025, the Principal District & Sessions Judge, Begusarai, passed an administrative order taking the entire case out of Judge Singh’s court and into his own “personal file” for hearing and disposal.

To this, Judge Singh expressed that the transfer appeared “hasty,” lacked any application from the parties, and seemed based on “personal knowledge” rather than judicial principles. He pointed out that the entire case record was still in his court when the transfer was ordered.

Citing Section 24 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), which allows a Principal District Judge to transfer cases under certain conditions, he said the law was “conspicuously silent” on transfers for administrative reasons and stressed that such powers cannot be used according to “whims and fancies".

Judge Singh wrote that such an intervention “violated the principle of judicial independence,” particularly since the case was at its concluding stage. He expressed anguish that the transfer effectively nullified the contempt proceedings he had initiated, saying it made subordinate courts appear like “paper tigers” and created a perception that powerful bureaucrats were “immune from judicial process".

He added that his morale was “badly dampened” and questioned why only ordinary citizens face strict action for disobeying court orders while senior officials seemingly escape scrutiny.

"Truely speaking, my morale is badly dampened by seeing as to how the water is thrown at the entire efforts of this court by sheer this transfer. No judge would ever dare to pass order against the mighty bureaucrats like D.Ms and S.Ps.", Judge Singh wrote. 

He also noted that this was not the first time the PDSJ had interfered in the matter, referring to an earlier incident recorded in a September order. "In my opinion, the transfer by Ld. Principal District and Sessions Judge, Begusarai was made to shield the D.M., Begusarai and S.P. Begusarai from contempt proceeding," he said.

Despite his criticism, Judge Singh complied with the transfer order, directed his office to send the entire file to the PDSJ, and formally withdrew from the case. “Nevertheless, let the justice be done… I have no regrets,” he concluded.

Case Title: Manish Kumar vs. The State of Bihar through D.M., Begusarai & others

Order Date: November 17, 2025

Court: District Judge-III, Begusarai Presiding Judge: Brajesh Kumar Singh