(2026:JHHC:10507) 1 Cr.M.P. No. 879 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI Cr. M. P. No. 879 of 2025 Ranjan Kumar Singh @ Ranjan Singh, aged about 35 years, s/o Kailash Singh, r/o Room No. 502, 5th Floor, Passhva Heights, Plot No. 85, Sector – 17, Ulwegavhan, PO – Gavan, PS – Nawaseva, District – Raigarh, Maharashtra. … … …Petitioner Versus 1. The State of Jharkhand. 2. Punam Devi, aged about 30 years, w/o Ranjan Singh, r/o Village Kusuwa, PO – Japla, PS – Hussainabad, District – Palamu, Jharkhand. … … …Opp. Parties ------ For the Petitioner : Mr. Anurag Kashyap, Advocate : Mr. Bhaswat Prakash, Advocate For the State : Mrs. Priya Shrestha, Spl. P.P. : Mr. Raj Nandan Chatterjee, Advocate ------ PRESENT HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR CHOUDHARY By the Court:- Heard the parties. 2. This criminal miscellaneous petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 528 of the BNSS, 2023; with the prayer to quash and set aside the order dated 07.02.2025 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Palamau in Complaint Case No. 345 of 2019 by which the learned Judicial Magistrate has ordered for issuance of proclamation under Section 82 Cr.P.C. inter alia against the petitioner. 3. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioner that proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. has been issued vide order dated 07.02.2025 in connection with Complaint Case No. 345 of 2019 by the learned Judicial (2026:JHHC:10507) 2 Cr.M.P. No. 879 of 2025 Magistrate, Palamau without following the due process of law and without recording the satisfaction that the petitioner is absconding or concealing himself to evade his arrest which is a sine qua non for issuing proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. and without fixing any time or place for the appearance of the petitioner. Hence, it is submitted that order dated 07.02.2025 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Palamau in Complaint Case No. 345 of 2019, being not in accordance with law, be quashed and set aside. 4. Learned Special Public Prosecutor and the learned counsel for the Opposite Party No. 2 on the other hand oppose the prayer for quashing the order dated 07.02.2025 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Palamau in Complaint Case No. 345 of 2019 and submits that the very fact that the learned Magistrate has issued the proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. itself shows that there were sufficient materials available in the record for the learned Magistrate to be satisfied that there is justification for issuance of such proclamation. Hence, it is submitted that this criminal miscellaneous petition being without any merit be dismissed. 5. Having heard the submissions made at the Bar and after going through the materials in the record, it is pertinent to mention here that by now it is a settled principle of law that the court which issues the proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. must record its satisfaction that the accused in respect of whom the proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. is made, is absconding or concealing himself to evade his arrest and in case the court decides to issue proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C., it must mention the time and place for appearance of the petitioner in the order itself by which the proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. is issued. As already indicated above since the learned Judicial Magistrate, Palamau has neither recorded its satisfaction that the petitioner is absconding or concealing himself to evade his arrest nor fixed any time or place for appearance (2026:JHHC:10507) 3 Cr.M.P. No. 879 of 2025 of the petitioner, who is the accused person of this case, this Court has no hesitation in holding that the learned Judicial Magistrate, Palamau has committed illegality by issuing the said proclamation under Section 82 of Cr.P.C. without complying with the mandatory requirements of law. Hence, the same is not sustainable in law and the continuation of the same will amount to abuse of process of law and this is a fit case where the order dated 07.02.2025 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate, Palamau in Complaint Case No. 345 of 2019 be quashed and set aside qua the petitioner. 6. Accordingly, the order dated 07.02.2025 passed by the learned Magistrate, Palamau in Complaint Case No. 345 of 2019, is quashed and set aside qua the petitioner. 7. The learned Magistrate may pass a fresh order in accordance with law. 8. In the result, this criminal miscellaneous petition is allowed. (Anil Kumar Choudhary, J.) High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi Dated the 06th April, 2026 AFR/ Aditi Uploaded On -15/04/2026