Rajasthan High Court – Jodhpur
Suresh Garg vs State Of Rajasthan (2026:Rj-Jd:7486) on 10 February, 2026
[2026:RJ-JD:7486]
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
S.B. Criminal Misc(Pet.) No. 1151/2026
Suresh Garg S/o Shri Madanlal Garg, Aged About 44 Years,
Resident Of Sur Basti Khandel, Police Station Kunwariya, At
Present J.k. Circle Bhawani Nagar, Gali No.3,tehsil And District-
Rajsamand
----Petitioner
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Public Prosecutor.
2. State Bank Of India, Panchayat Samati Railmagra,
Through Branch Manager Ravindra S/o Shri Heeralal ,
Resident Dhayala, Tehsil And Rajsamand At Present
Branch Manager, Railmagra
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Vikram Sharma
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Vikram Singh Rajpurohit, PP
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BALJINDER SINGH SANDHU
Order
10/02/2026
By way of filing present misc. petition under Section
528 BNSS petitioner seeks to challenge order dated
02.12.2025 passed by learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Railmagra, District Rajsamand in Criminal Case No.299/2023
(State Bank of India Vs. Suresh Garg), whereby the petitioner
has been declared absconder and proceedings under Section
82 and 83 Cr. P.C., have been issued and he has been summoned
through warrant of arrest.
This Court has considered the arguments raised by learned
counsel for the petitioner and has perused the order dated
02.12.2025.
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Counsel submits that the petitioner was not informed by his
counsel of the next date of hearing and he was assured earlier
that whenever his presence would be required, he would be
informed.
He further submits that due to illness of the counsel he failed
to inform and as a result of which the bailable warrants were
issued. He is not residing at the given address, therefore, the
warrants were not served on him. It is not the case that he was
evading service of notices.
Counsel further submits that the petitioner is a Government
servant and hence he could never evade service of notices and his
non-presence was only due to the fact that he was not informed
about the date by his counsel and only when he approached the
counsel he came to know about the fact.
This Court upon considered the submission made and finds
sufficient reason for non-appearance of the petitioner.
The Co-ordinate Bench of this Court while dealing with the
issue of initiation of proceedings under Section 82 and 83 Cr. P.C.,
vide its order dated 18.09.2024 allowed S.B. Criminal Misc.
Petition No.6290/2024 (Visha Bhai Vs. State of Rajasthan)
observing that :-
“7. Qua issuance of process under Sections 82 & 83 of Cr.P.C.
against the petitioner herein, reference may be had to a Punjab
and Haryana High Court judgment rendered in case of Pradeep
Kumar Vs. State of Punjab and Anr.3, decided on 23.08.2023.
Relevant thereof is extracted hereinbelow:
“13.1 The declaration of an individual as a proclaimed
person or offender, as contemplated under Section 82 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure (hereafter referred to as ‘the(Uploaded on 16/02/2026 at 07:03:35 PM)
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[2026:RJ-JD:7486] (3 of 6) [CRLMP-1151/2026]Code’), carries with it the consequential implication of
attachment and sale of his property as delineated in
Sections 83, 84, and 85 of the Code. Furthermore, such a
declaration triggers the criminal liability of the individual
under Section 174-A of the Indian Penal Code, with a
potential sentence of up to seven years of imprisonment,
coupled with a monetary penalty. This, in turn, has profound
and far-reaching ramifications, significantly affecting the
fundamental rights to life, liberty and property of the
concerned individual. Hence, it becomes imperative that the
Courts meticulously adhere to the statutory requirements in
letter and spirit both, duly reflecting their compliance on the
record prior to pronouncing an individual as a proclaimed
person or offender and invoking criminal liability under the
aforementioned section.
13.2 Section 82(1) of the Code mandates that a
proclamation shall require the concerned individual to
appear at a specified place and time, with no less than thirty
days’ notice from the date of proclamation publication. Sub-
Section (2) provides comprehensive guidance on the
publication of proclamations, while sub-Section (3) firmly
establishes that a written statement by the issuing Court
shall be conclusive evidence of compliance with the
requirements of this Section. Additionally, Section 83(1)
empowers the Court, to order the attachment of any
property, whether movable or immovable, belonging to the
proclaimed individual, for reasons recorded in writing.
13.3 In cases where an accused person fails to appear even
after publication of the proclamation under Section 82(1) of
the Code, the Court can initiate action as per procedure
outlined in Sections 83, 84, and 85 of the Code for the
attachment and sale of their property. Furthermore, the
Court may proceed with the examination of witnesses in the
individual’s absence, as stipulated in Section 299 of the
Code.
x-x-x-x-x
19. Before parting with the case, having had the benefit of
judgment in Sunil Tyagi supra, it is considered desirable to
frame guidelines for issuance of a proclamation under(Uploaded on 16/02/2026 at 07:03:35 PM)
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[2026:RJ-JD:7486] (4 of 6) [CRLMP-1151/2026]Section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it’s
publication, declaring the concerned person as ‘proclaimed
person’ or ‘proclaimed offender’ and where considered
necessary, to invoke criminal proceedings against person for
offence under Section 74-A of IPC (Sic 174-A). Accordingly,
the following guidelines are being framed:
Issuance of proclamation :
i. Preceding the issuance of the proclamation under section
82 Cr.P.C., the Court must deliberate upon its previous
efforts to secure the presence of the through other legally
permissible means. These efforts encompass the issuance of
summons, the execution of bailable and/or non-bailable
warrants against the accused. The Court must thoroughly
document the results stemming from these endeavours,
accompanied by pertinent facts and comprehensive details.
It is incumbent upon the Court to satisfactorily ascertain
that the individual in question has indeed absconded or is
concealing himself to evade execution of warrant of arrest.
ii. The phrase “reason to believe,” as articulated in
Section 82 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, signifies that
the Court must derive its belief from the available evidence
and materials that the concerned person has absconded or is
concealing himself to evade execution of warrant of arrest.
iii. Furthermore, in the proclamation, it must be set forth as
to where and when the concerned individual must present
himself. A designated location and time must be stipulated.
Importantly, the specified date and time for appearance
should not be less than a thirty-day from the date of
publication of the proclamation. Publication of
proclamation-
iv. The publication of a proclamation, as outlined in Section
82(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, mandates
adherence to all three prescribed modes, namely:
(a). The public reading of the proclamation in a conspicuous
location within the town or village where the individual
ordinarily resides.
(b) The affixation of the proclamation at a prominent spot at
the individual’s house or homestead.
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(c) The display of the proclamation at a prominent location
within the precincts of the court house.
v. All the aforesaid three modes of publication of a
proclamation have to be adhered to. Failure to follow all or
any of them renders the proclamation invalid in the eyes of
the law. This is because the three sub-clauses (a) to (c) are
mutually exclusive.
vi. If the Court so feels, in addition to the aforementioned
trio of methods for securing the accused’s presence, it may,
at its discretion, also direct the publication of a copy of the
proclamation in a daily newspaper circulating within the
geographical area where the said individual ordinarily
resides.
vii If the Court, in its discretion orders publication of
proclamation in newspaper, it shall also direct that the
newspaper agency, upon the publication of the proclamation
in the newspaper, shall dispatch a copy thereof to the
accused’s ad dress, as is the procedure observed in civil
matters, in terms of Order 5 Rule 10 of the Code of Civil
Procedure. In essence, this supplementary measure ensures
that the accused is duly apprised of the legal proceedings
against him. Declaration as “proclaimed person” or
“proclaimed offender:
viii. Prior to the declaration of the concerned individual as a
“proclaimed person” or “proclaimed offender,” the Court
shall pass a speaking order stating relevant facts and record
its satisfaction that the proclamation has been duly and
properly published in the prescribed manner.
ix. Furthermore, it must ensure that a period of not less
than thirty days has expired between the date of publication
of the proclamation and the date indicated in the
proclamation for the individual’s appearance. If the interval
between the proclamation’s publication and the date
specified therein for appearance falls short of thirty days,
such a publication of the proclamation cannot serve as the
foundation for designating the individual in question as a
“proclaimed person” or “proclaimed offender.”
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[2026:RJ-JD:7486] (6 of 6) [CRLMP-1151/2026]In light of observations made by Co-ordinate Bench in order
dated 18.09.2024, Visha Bhai Vs. State of Rajasthan (supra), this
Court is inclined to allow the present criminal misc. petition.
The impugned order 02.12.2025 directing for forfeiture of
bail-bonds of the petitioner and initiation of proceedings under
Section 82 and 83 Cr. P.C., against the petitioner is hereby
quashed and set aside.
The original bail bonds of the petitioner accused as well as
bonds of his sureties are restored and the trial court is directed to
proceed in accordance with law.
The petitioner shall appear before the learned trial court on
the next date and continue to co-operate until completion of trial.
(BALJINDER SINGH SANDHU),J
104-Sanjay/-
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