By Avijit Biswas
Bhagalpur: In an effort to enhance the local green cover, the Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ)-16, Vishwa Vibhuti Gupta, has issued a unique directive. An accused in a case has been instructed to plant twenty-five trees and submit a certificate of compliance to the court. This certificate must be procured from the officer-in-charge of the police station in the accused’s area.
The directive must be complied with before the court proceeds with the arguments on the judgment. Raj Kumar Mandal, the accused, is charged by his father-in-law, Narayan Mandal, with illegally taking his sister-in-law with the intention of marrying her. The directive for plantation was issued during the hearing of the 17-year-old case last Friday.
According to reports, Narayan Mandal, a resident of Awjalpur village under the Sanokhar Police Station area of the district, lodged a complaint at the local police station on 30th June 2007. He accused his elder son-in-law, Raj Kumar Mandal, of illegally taking his younger daughter, Bulo Kumari, with the intention of marrying her. The father-in-law also alleged that his son-in-law had stolen ₹1,500 in cash from his house. When the local police station failed to register an FIR based on his complaint, Narayan Mandal approached the court.
In addition to Raj Kumar Mandal, Narayan Mandal also named his father, Upendra Mandal, and his mother, Budiya Devi, as co-accused in the complaint. After the court took cognisance of the matter, the police registered an FIR at Sanokhar Police Station. Following an inquiry, the police filed a chargesheet in the case.
In his complaint, Narayan Mandal stated that he had solemnised the marriage of his elder daughter, Guho Devi, with Raj Kumar Mandal in 1998. A few years later, his son-in-law allegedly began threatening him, stating that he would leave his elder daughter unless he was allowed to marry the younger daughter. In response to these threats, Narayan Mandal hastily arranged the marriage of his younger daughter in 2007. However, sometime after this marriage, Raj Kumar Mandal allegedly took the younger daughter away with the intention of marrying her.
Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Vikram Kumar Singh, representing the prosecution, confirmed that the court directed Raj Kumar Mandal to plant twenty-five trees before the hearing on the judgment. The APP corroborated that this directive aims to increase the green cover through plantation. He added that such court directives would significantly contribute to environmental protection by preventing degradation.
Meanwhile, the scheduled court hearing on the judgment was deferred as the accused requested more time to comply with the directive. The court has now set 31st August as the next date for the hearing.
