Gurugram: A judicial magistrate posted in Haryana is under scrutiny of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for granting bail to an individual allegedly related to her.
Delivering the order in the case on 6 November, HC judge Sumeet Goel has instructed the registrar general to seek comments from the judicial officer, Vandana Walia, and directed that in case an inquiry has been conducted on the administrative side, its report be submitted to the court in a sealed cover at the next hearing.
The high court was hearing a plea by one Akash Walia, who prayed for revocation of bail granted to one Rishab Walia in a criminal case lodged against him at Mullana police station in Ambala district of Haryana.
The charges in the case pertain to threatening a person to give false evidence, criminal intimidation and causing disappearance of evidence.
At the heart of the petition is Akash Walia’s claim that Vandana Walia, who was posted as Judicial Magistrate First Class and approved Rishab Walia’s bail, had family ties with the latter.
The petition alleges that Rishab and the judicial magistrate are related as cousins. Akash Walia pleaded that Vandana Walia, being related to Rishab Walia as cousin, should not have presided over a case in which Rishab’s bail plea was to be considered.
The HC’s order notes that following an investigation, the state of Haryana submitted its findings in the matter on 19 May this year. Its report states that a familial connection does exist between the magistrate and the accused, though it is a distant one.
For their inquiries, the state authorities gathered testimonies from residents of Fatehpur village in Kaithal, where families of the magistrate and the accused have their roots.
The evidence gathered in the process showed that magistrate Vandana Walia’s grandmother is the aunt of Vinod Walia (Rishab’s father) in extended relations through generations and hence the magistrate and accused are distant cousins.
The inquiry report noted an important distinction: the two families belong to separate lineages or gotras, and the relationship is “distant” rather than immediate.
A counter affidavit submitted by Akash Walia stated that in December 2023, the magistrate obtained leave from her duties to participate in funeral rituals for Anil Walia, who was Vinod Walia’s sibling.
Akash Walia also highlighted this incident in a formal complaint lodged against the judicial officer in January 2024. Subsequently, the district and sessions judge in Ambala conducted an inquiry in the matter.
In the order passed on 6 November, Justice Sumeet Goel emphasised that the matter of the relationship between Vandana Walia and the accused must be resolved first, as it forms the foundation for deciding whether Rishab’s bail should be cancelled, as pleaded for by petitioner Akash Walia.
The order directed the registrar general to collect a confidential statement from the magistrate addressing these allegations. Additionally, any internal administrative review that may have been conducted should also be submitted confidentially to the bench. The case is now listed for 26 November.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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