The observation assumes significance against the backdrop of the ongoing proceedings concerning the alleged irregularities in the sale of around 40 acres of government land at Mundhwa, Pune, to Amadea Enterprises LLP, a firm in which Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar has been reported to hold a 99% stake.
Justice Jamdar is hearing an anticipatory bail plea arising from the case. During the proceedings, the Court had earlier sought an explanation from the Maharashtra Director General of Police and the investigating officer on why Parth Pawar had not been named as an accused, while another director of Amadea Enterprises LLP, Digvijay Patil, had been arrayed as an accused. The Court's direction followed submissions placed before it regarding the differing treatment of the two directors.
Against this background, Justice Jamdar's query concerning the praecipe focused attention on an aspect of Bombay High Court procedure that is ordinarily little noticed outside court practice: who moves a praecipe and for what purpose.
What is a praecipe?
A praecipe is a written procedural request submitted to the Court or its Registry seeking a particular procedural step or direction. Depending upon the circumstances and the applicable High Court rules or practice directions, a praecipe may be used for matters such as circulation of a case, obtaining directions, restoration, listing, correction or compliance-related requests.
At the Bombay High Court, praecipes are a regular part of the Court's circulation mechanism. The High Court itself publishes daily and date-wise lists of praecipes received. Its circulation page presently records numerous praecipes received before Justice Jamdar, demonstrating that praecipes as such are not unusual at the High Court.
The point in the present context is narrower: a praecipe moved by or on behalf of the State Government through its authorised counsel can be procedurally distinct from the much more familiar situation where a private litigant's advocate submits a praecipe seeking circulation or a procedural direction.
How does a State-filed praecipe work?
The State Government, when represented before the High Court, ordinarily acts through its authorised law officer or Government Pleader/Additional Government Pleader. A praecipe submitted on behalf of the State therefore communicates a procedural request to the Court through the State's legal representation.
A praecipe does not itself amount to an order of the Court, nor does filing one establish that the Court has accepted the factual or legal position stated in it. The Court must still consider the request and pass an appropriate direction.
The Bombay High Court's own records demonstrate that Government counsel can, in appropriate circumstances, move praecipes on behalf of the State. Thus, the significance of Justice Jamdar's query should not be understood as suggesting that a State Government can never file a praecipe. Rather, the question concerns how unusual such State-initiated praecipes are in the particular procedural context before the Court.
Why the query matters in the Mundhwa proceedings
The Mundhwa case has already attracted judicial scrutiny over the investigation. In an earlier proceeding, Justice Jamdar questioned why Parth Pawar had not been named as an accused. In the later proceedings, the Court noted submissions that Amadea Enterprises LLP had two directors, Digvijay Patil and Parth Pawar, while Patil had been made an accused and Pawar had not. The Court consequently directed the DGP and investigating officer to file replies.
The Court's query about the praecipe is therefore a procedural issue arising within a wider judicial examination of the case. It does not, by itself, establish any wrongdoing in the filing of the praecipe or any improper motive on the part of the State.
The exact significance of the praecipe in the present proceedings will depend on its contents, the authority under which it was filed, and the purpose for which it was placed before the Court.
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