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INTERNSHIP TRIAL DIARY


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INTERNSHIP TRIAL DIARY

Name of Advocate : DINESH KUMAR

Area of Practice : Civil and Criminal

Court : Mumbai High Court and District Court

Chamber : Lawyer’s Chamber No. 3, IC COLONY,

BORIVALI (W), MUMBAI - 400103

Duration of Internship : 1st July 2023 to 31st July 2023

Submitted by:

Name of the Student: Poonam Bansal

Class: 3 years LLB (Semester V)

College: NALANDA LAW COLLEGE

Class Roll Number: 33008


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CONTENTS

● List of Cases

● Introduction

● Importance of legal internship

PART I

REPORT ON COURT EXPERIENCE

● General Observation of functioning of district courts

● Court Diary

PART II

EXPERIENCE DURING THE INTERNSHIP

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INTERNSHIP OVERVIEW

It gives me immense pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness and deep sense of gratitude

and respect to Advocate Mr. Dinesh Kumar, without whose constant guidance this internship

would not have been possible.

I visited following places:

 High Court

 District Court

This Internship helped me knowing the application of law. I had seen the interpretation,

function of law in court. It does play a vital role in every individual’s life. It gave life to those

books which I have read. In democratic India, laws are not only a written document but also

implemented in court of law.

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INTRODUCTION

This report examines the internship program with Advocate. My internship with Advocate

started from 01/07/2023 to 31/07/2023 has immensely been a commendable learning

experience for me. The internship delivered me insight look of the society through the

medium of court practice, where I dealt with people directly to look into their problems under

the guidance of my senior and other associates with the help of them I was able to complete

my internship with an excellent learning experience. I visited different District Courts, High

Court as per the different matters fixed in courts in daily routine. Where I got an opportunity

to appear before the Hon’ble Judges and Magistrates and also to interact with the prisoners

and to know the reason for the commission of their crime and prisoner’s that seek to utilize

the rehabilitative opportunities. Imprisonment offers, combining it with the essential

restorative justice a meeting between offender, victim and community.

There is rule of law in our society followed in courts, is an aspect equality before the law

which suggest that no person is above law and that every person, whatever be his rank or

condition, is subject to jurisdiction of ordinary courts.

Rule of law requires that no person shall be subject to harsh, uncivilized or discriminatory

treatment even when the object is the securing of paramount exigencies of law and order.

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FACTUAL AND ANALYTICAL EXPERIENCE


ABOUT
THE INTERNSHIP

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IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL INTERNSHIP

Internship is an important part of academic curriculum because they help one again practical

knowledge and experience required to excel in their respective fields. Legal internship is not

an exception to this rule. Legal internships help law students to decide their respective areas

of interest out a plethora of opportunities offered by legal education be it a career in a

corporate law firm, litigation, academics or working for NGOs.

1. Internship is one of the modes of practical training in the sphere of legal education. Apart

from the moots, legal aid and legal writing it forms the core component of practice

acquisition and assimilation of law teaching syllabus for the students.

2. The process of internship provides the students with an opportunity to study and examine

the structure and behavior of organizations. It shows to them the nature of legal framework of

the institutions and concerned issues. Students get the benefit of an exposure to law in action

rather than law in books (as acquired in class rooms) and thus help them in due acquisition of

legal expertise. Legal services are the tenth most popular field choice in our student

internship program. Each year, a few dozen students from political science, law, and other

majors do short term internship in laws. Placements can be anywhere from criminal law

firms, to the Department of Justice. Here’s an excerpt from a recent Internship Report.

Importance of legal internship can be summarized through following threefold points: -

● Internship provides a platform for practical application of classroom knowledge.

● Legal internship helps in gaining practical skills and hence gives an edge in the job market.

● Internship assists in choosing respective area of interest and hence in specialization.

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LEGAL INTERNSHIPS ARE PRIMARILY RESEARCH AND DRAFTING

ORIENTED.

RESEARCH:

Research constitutes an important aspect of any internship whether it is a law firm or a court

internship. Hence one needs to be well acquainted with various legal research tools, the

prominent being Manupatra, Lexis Nexis, Westlaw etc.

DRAFTING:

Drafting skills require lots of hard work and patience. One needs to be well versed with the

various drafting specimens and formatting skills in order to undertake and complete such

assignments properly. Apart from these, assignments may include proof reading of various

legal documents, observance of court proceedings, making notes on various legal issues etc.

and other task depending on the nature of the internship.

DAILY INTERNSHIP DUTIES:

1. Supporting the lawyers that come into the office and program. Sitting in on

meetings and appointments and offering required assistance.

2. Office type organizational work – photocopying, organizing papers, keeping files in

order, organizing the desk.

3. Reading any suggested law related materials for my own benefit.

4. Helping clients if possible and if I am able to since I don’t know much about the

field yet.

5. Interacting to various lawyers in our office.

6. Research on judgments that are related to facts of case.

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I started interning with Mr. Dinesh Kumar from the 1 st July 2023 to 31st July 2023. His office
is located at Lawyer’s Chamber No.3, IC Colony, Borivali (W), Mumbai - 400103

I secured this internship through a personal contact.

One skill that I immediately took note of was time management. Everybody was on his or her
toes.

On the very first day, I was taught the traits of a good advocate. Time management, quick
effort with well thought action, meeting with the deadlines; these were the few things that I
had to take note of.

During the 31 days of my internship, the things I learned during my internship can be
enumerated as:

1. PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE OF A CASE FILE:


The Junior Advocates working associated with the firm, handed over me the case file
and go through it like how the documents are sequenced, the documents need to be
filed up. I learnt that the latest document related to the case to be placed at the top. In
every file the first sheet is the case summary prepared by the concerned advocates to
make themselves handy with the events took place in a chronological order. All the
pages are properly tagged with the sticky notes on which the heading of the
documents was written, this make the arguing advocate to refer the desired document
before the court very quickly. Thereafter, I was asked to prepare a file of a fresh case
in a like manner and I did the work to their satisfaction. I made summaries of the
cases, tagged the documents along with the dates.

2. READING OF CASE FILE:


I was asked to read case files include those which came there for appeals. First time, I
was unable to relate the documents placed in the file as it contained the petition,
written statement, lower courts order and judgement and if they are at advanced stage
in the high court itself, the various orders passed by the judges in various hearings.
Then I took the assistance of the lawyers working there to teach me the practical
aspect of the court proceedings and what exactly each document means. I learnt that
files include various forms like Vakalatnama, MOU; brief facts of the plaintiff along
with the allegations and prayer to the court; written statement by the defendant;
affidavits by both the parties, recording of statements of the witnesses and their
cross and r e - e xaminations.
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I read case files related to dispute, Divorce under section 13 of Hindu Marriage Act,
1955, Murder, Property Disputes (Title Dispute).
As I did Internship in July, 2023, I didn’t remember the details of each case but I
made notes of few cases which is related to the possession of the property. Brief facts
of the case were: the property was given for re-construction to the contractor by the
client’s Brother who got expired few months after the agreement with the contractor.
The client is the legal heir of him. Now, the contractor failed to give the possession
back to the owner/client at the expiry of consented time period and he let out that
property on rent to someone else. So, the case was about to get the possession back
from such unlawful possession by the Contractor.

3. LEGAL RESEARCH:
One day I was asked to search for a case by one of the Junior Advocate working with
Senior Advocate, while he was preparing on her case. She told me the main points of
her case and asked to search for similar judgements which were held in favor of her
client and also against him. That was the first time I ever did any research before that
I didn’t know what the research is all about. In our law curriculum the research was
taught in 6th Semester i.e. after my internship. Thereafter I researched many times
when being asked. I learnt that in order to get the exact/similar case to our case it take
so much of labour like putting the key words in search engine of the relevant sites like
Manupatra, Indian kanoon, Supreme Court’s Site and thereafter reading of resulted
judgements with a wide array of law books and bare acts and to find out whether the
judgement is related to our case or not be it in our favour or against and I learnt that
while looking for favorable judgements it is also necessary to look for the against
judgements so that we can work more on laying our case stronger by getting the
knowledge/hint what the opposite party may argue before the court.
I also went to the High Court’s Library to look for the judgements of which we have
citations only and also not available on the browser.

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4. COURT VISIT:
 On the first day, I was asked to visit court rooms to witness the Court proceedings.
I was advised to take note of everything that happens in a court room. I heard few
cases. They were related to divorce petition, property dispute. That day I learnt
how a judge entertain the arguments of an advocate and what the mannerism an
advocate needs to follow before the court.
 I visited the Court with my Lawyer. He was to represent a Divorce Case. We were
representing the appellant side. It just went for 5 minutes and next date was given,
which was after 2 months.
 I visited District Court along with my Lawyer, there I learnt regarding the quashing
the proceedings of the F.I.R under Section 406/420 of the Indian Penal Code where
the parties had settled the matter by obtaining the decree of divorce by mutual
consent and there was no survival of criminal cases as registered under the said
sections by the State. This was an important case for me to understand the concept
of FIR.

5. FRAMING OF CHARGES:
As my Lawyer has office in Mumbai, he and his junior lawyers handle the matters at
Trial Court Level also. So, I got the opportunity to witness the process of framing of
charges. For the purpose of framing charge, therefore, the Judge is to consider
judicially whether on consideration of the materials on record, it can be said that the
accused has been reasonably connected with the offence alleged to have been
committed and that on the basis of the said materials there is a reasonable probability
or chance, as we normally call it, of the accused being found guilty of the offence
alleged. If the answer is in the affirmative, the Judge will be at liberty to presume
“that the accused has committed an offence” as mentioned in Section 228 of the
Criminal Procedure Code for the purpose of framing charge. On the contrary, if the
answer is in the negative for want of sufficient material, the Judge shall discharge the
accused as no charge can be framed.

6. CROSS EXAMINATION:
I also learnt how Cross examination is to be done. While cross examining the witness
never allow him/her to be confident ask them twisted question so that they become

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nervous and are not able to answer properly. My Lawyer had asked mostly leading
questions which we were recently been taught in the class.

7. FINAL ARGUMENTS:
I learnt that it means the final statement of a professional debate, or the conclusion of
a speech. It takes place only after both sides of the case have presented evidence and
examined witnesses to the lawyer’s satisfaction. Sometimes this process takes up a
few hours, but depending on the case and the specific charge, proceedings can go on
for days, weeks, or months. The only aspects remaining of the proceedings after the
closing statements have been delivered are the jury’s deliberation, followed by the
delivery of a verdict. Both the content and the delivery of a closing statement are
incredibly important, because it is the last thing a lawyer can say to the jury or judge
before a final decision is made about the case.

8. CLIENT INTERVIEWING:
I was also given the opportunity to sit during discussions with clients. I observed that
my Lawyer listened him patiently and allowed him to finish. He asked some questions
from the client in order to get the full facts and to get the clear picture of the client’s
case. After listening the patiently, my lawyer assures the client you no need to worry
case is in our favour or going in our favour.

I learnt that Lawyer must ensure the client that he is listening and also understanding
his situation. Lawyer can reflect these by noting the points and by interacting with the
client. I witnessed the counselling related to the matter of getting possession back of
the property and divorce matter.

9. OTHER EXPERIENCE:
I was made to read various Orders & rules there under of Civil Procedure Code,
Negotiable Instrument Act, Indian Evidence Act, Criminal Procedure Code.
Thereafter, I was supposed to explain them what I understood & then they explained
me the practical aspect of these provisions.

I also learnt that filing of a case is done at Central Filing Office, where the plaint
along with documents were submitted and along with court fees, which was through
court

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tickets attached to such documents and plaint were submitted.

I also learnt that every lawyer maintains a court diary, which proved handy and very
useful as all the details of the cases were entered in the diary with proper date i.e.
previous date and next date of hearing. It proves to be useful as respective cases are
recorded by the lawyer date wise and it saves time to think and search for the cases as
per upcoming date.

I also learnt that it is important to read apex court judgements and keep yourself
sound minded and while dealing with a case read the facts of case very carefully and
try to find out loopholes and then use them in your favour.

THINGS BOTHERED ME DURING THE INTERNSHIP

Firstly, the fierce competition among advocates shows that sometimes the profession is not
just about fair representation of clients but to even outgrow the fellow advocates.
Secondly, I noticed that there is intense level of paper work involved which further is difficult
to manage for a long time period, as was observed by me during internship that some old case
files were kept in shelves which were eaten up by dust.

GOOD LESSONS
One must always be interactive and in building up good contacts with fellow senior’s good
communication skill is required and try to gain knowledge from them. One should also have
basic knowledge of Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Procedure Code, Evidence Act as lack of
it creates a big hindrance towards the understanding of working of the courts. And as I was
also suggested that one must carry their hard copies of the concerned Acts and codes as they
prove to be very helpful during internship.

The experience was really amazing. I got to interact with a lot of people and I was lucky to
learn a lot from the associates. In law school you read the law but while interning you get to
apply it, so overall, I got to learn more about law and its application from my internships.

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PART - II

TWO LEGAL DOCUMENTS


DRAFTED DURING
INTERNSHIP

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IN THE COURT OF PRINCIPAL JUDGE, FAMILY COURT

(DISTRICT – MUMBAI) MUMBAI

HMA PETITION No. OF 2023

IN THE MATTER OF: -

Anand Kumar

----------------Petitioner No.1

Versus

Surbhi Kumar

-----------------Petitioner No.2

PETITION UNDER SECTION 13-B (1) OF THE HMA FOR DISSOLUTION OF

MARRIAGE BY MUTUAL CONSENT.

MOST RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED AS UNDER: -

1. That The marriage between the parties was solemnized on 31/06/2015 at Mumbai, by

Hindu rites and ceremonies. The said marriage was consummated thereafter and the

parties co-habited as husband and wife at the matrimonial home i.e. Mumbai.

2. The particulars showing the details of the parties to the present petition is given

hereunder:

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Husband Wife

Particular Status Age Place of Status Age Place of

Residence Residence

Before Marriage

At the time of
filling the
Petition

2. That there is no issue out of the wedlock of the parties. (or describe the name age and date

of birth of the children and also described about the agreement about the custody of the

children amongst the couple).

3. That the parties could not adjust with each other due to temperamental differences and

their marriage has broken down irretrievably and it is now not possible between the parties

live as husband and wife any more.

4. That all the efforts of reconciliation between the parties to continue the present marriage

has failed and there are no further chances of reconciliation between the parties any more.

5. That the parties are residing separately since 06/07/2016 and there is no cohabitation

between the parties since then.

6. That the parties have now decided to dissolve the marriage legally through a decree of

divorce on mutual consent. The parties have settled all their claims, counter claims etc. and

the respondent wife has received her entire Stridhan, Permanent alimony, maintenance etc.

and there is no due with regard to any other claim between the parties now.

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7. That the party has decided to withdraw all the complaints, counter complaints against each

other.

8. That the present petition is not being filed in collusion.

9. That there are no other divorce proceedings pending before any other court.

10. That the matrimonial home of the parties was at New Delhi, hence this court has the

jurisdiction to grant the decree of divorce as prayed for.

11. That there are no legal impediments in grant of the decree of divorce to the parties on the

basis of mutual consent.

PRAYER

It is most respectfully prayed that the court may accept the present petition and grant a decree

of divorce between the parties thereby, dissolving the marriage between the parties.

Any other order which the court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the

present case be also passed in favour of the petitioners.

Place: Petitioner No.1

Date: Petitioner No.2

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IN THE COURT OF ADDITIONAL DISTRICT & SESSION JUDGE

(DISTRICT – MUMBAI) MUMBAI

Regular Bail Application No. of 2023

Case No. Of 2023

Police Station:

IN THE MATTER OF: -

Shiv Saxena S/o Ram Saxena

-------------Applicant

Versus

State of Maharashtra through Police

station Mumbai

-----------------Respondent

FIRST APPLICATION U/S 439 OF THE CODE OF CRIMINAL

PROCEDURE, 1973 FOR REGULAR BAIL

1. The meaning of Criminal Miscellaneous Petitions in general cull out from the

dictionary and in practice is a formal expression of request submitted by way of an

application filed before the criminal court in or otherwise in the criminal proceedings

on different actions of reliefs for some privilege, right, benefit or for an action”. In

general, Criminal Miscellaneous Petition is an application filed into the Court for

seeking a specific relief.

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2. The Criminal Miscellaneous Petitions are one of the important tasks of the

Magistrate/Judge in the criminal courts. The filing of Criminal Miscellaneous

Petitions will start even before registering the case by way of Anticipatory bail

application. The Criminal Miscellaneous Petitions may be filed even at the inception

of a criminal proceeding, during the criminal proceedings or after conclusion of the

same. The Courts must cautious while dealing with these petitions with regard to their

maintainability on the point of jurisdiction.

3. The orders passed in these petitions are mostly interim in nature, some of the petitions

are for specific purpose and some period either interim or final. When a petition is

filed seeking interim relief, it is registered as Criminal Miscellaneous Petition. A

memo filed before the court of law need not be treated as a petition. The main

difference between petition and memo is that memo is nothing but brining a fact to

the notice before the court of law and no relief can be sought for in a memo, however,

where a petition is filed requiring some relief from the court, a notice to opposite

party is mandatory in most of the cases.

4. When a miscellaneous petition is filed a criminal case, it is registered as Criminal

Miscellaneous Petition. As soon as a petition is filed, primary duty of the court is to

see whether the relief sought is provided under the Criminal procedure Code or not.

If it is provided, petition shall be called in court by assigning a miscellaneous number

and notice shall be ordered to the opposite party. Having heard both the parties, a

detailed order has to be pronounced. In a day to day, criminal courts come across

several Criminal Miscellaneous Petition seeking different reliefs.

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5. When a petition is filed under section 239 of Criminal Procedure Code in a Magistrate

Court and under Section 227 of Criminal procedure Code in a court of Sessions,

seeking discharge of accused from the warrant case or Sessions case, , before allowing

that petition, the Court has to see whether there is any prima facie case appears

against the accused. The court has to find out whether or not allegations made are

groundless so as to order discharge. The court is not expected to go deep into the

matter and hold material would warrant a conviction. What needs to be considered is

whether there is a ground for presumption that offence has been committed and not

where ground for convicting the accused has been made out.

6. When a petition is filed before the Magistrate of, I Class Court, seeking discharge of

accused in a case exclusively trial by the Court of Sessions, the Magistrate cannot be

discharge the accused, in view of the decision reported in AIR 1978 SC 514 in

between Sanjay Gandhi vs. Union of India. A criminal petition for discharge of

accused in summons case is not at all maintainable. It was held by the Hon’ble

Supreme Court of Indian in a case in between A. Prasad vs. Rooplal Zindal reported

in AIR 2004 SC 4674 that a criminal miscellaneous petition for discharge of accused

in summons case is not at all maintainable” Because there is no question of discharge

in summons cases. Discharge of accused in summons case amounts to recall of

summons which is not permissible under law. It was held by Hon’ble Supreme Court

of India in a decision reported in AIR 2008 SC 1903 in between Hemachandar vs.

State of Jharkhand that when a petition is filed seeking for discharge of the accused,

the court cannot look into the documents produced by the accused.

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7. Petition filed by the accused under Section 309 of Criminal Procedure Code, where a

witness is present in a court but a party or his advocate is not present or the party or

his advocate though present in a court , is not ready to examine or cross examine the

witness, the court may, if it thinks fit , record the statement of witnesses and pass such

orders as it thinks fit dispensing with the examination of witness in chief or cross

examination of that witness as the case may be. Trial Court cannot be permitted to

flout the mandate of Sec.309 (1) of Criminal procedure Code, unless the court has

very cogent and strong reasons. No court is permitted to adjourn the examination of

witnesses who were in attendance beyond the next working day. It was held in Thampi Vs.

State of Kerala reported in 1994(1) ALT Criminal -69, that Order of Sessions Judge directing

Advocate of accused to deposit an number of Rupees one thousand for adjourning a Sessions

trial at his instance to be paid to witnesses present as day costs Not legal. Power of Court to

adjourn proceedings on such terms as it thinks fit does not include power to direct Counsel to

pay costs. Counsel cannot be identified or equated with that of a party. When witnesses

are present, adjournment shall not be granted without examining them except for special

reasons to be recorded in writing. Engagement of Counsel in another case not a special

reason for adjourning the trial when witnesses are present. Advocate seeking adjournment can

be asked to cross examine witnesses. If he is unwilling, accused can be asked to cross

examine. If both of them do not avail opportunity without adequate reasons, Court can record

no cross” and proceed with case.

8. Section 310 of Criminal procedure Code. In some cases, the accused comes with a

petition under section 310 of Criminal Procedure Code by praying the Court to make

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local inspection in some cases any judge or Magistrate may, at any stage of the

inquiry, trial or other proceeding, after due notice to the parties, visit and inspect any

place in which an offence is alleged to have been committed, or any other place in

which it is in his opinion necessary to view for the purpose of properly appreciating

the evidence given at such inquiry or trial, and shall without unnecessary delay record

a memorandum of any relevant fats observed at such inspection. Such memorandum

shall form part of the record of the case and if the prosecutor, complainant or accused

or any other party to the case, so desires, a copy of the memorandum shall be

furnished to him on free of cost.

9. In some cases, the accused comes with a petition under section 310 of Criminal

procedure Code by praying the court to make local inspection, but it is not desirable

for the court to do so. In a decision held in between Vathadu Venkanna vs. State of

Andhra Pradesh, our Honourable High Court held that “ local inspection by presiding

officer is not at all a step in a criminal proceedings in normal parlance.

10. Generally, we come across with petitions filed under section 311 of Criminal

procedure Code by praying the court to recall witnesses who were already examined,

power under Section 311 of Criminal procedure has to be exercised to find out the

truth render a just decision of the case.

11. When the prosecution filed a petition under section 319 of Criminal Procedure Code,

praying the Court to proceed against other persons other than the accused who are

facing trial, the court can pass orders basing on the examination in chief itself, there is

no need of giving an opportunity to the proposed accused for cross examination,

which

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was held in a case in between Gangadhar Nandagiri Swamiji vs. State of Uttar Pradesh

reported in 2002 (1)ALD 680.

12. In some occasions, the accused used to file petitions under section 91 of Criminal

Procedure Code to summon the documents. At the time of framing charges, the court

has to examine the material which is produced by the prosecution and it cannot

summon any document at the instance of accused, the same was held by the Hon’ble

Supreme Court of India in a case in between State of Odisha vs. Devendranath Padi.

13. In cases relating to applications for return of case property for interim custody, the

court pass an order for interim custody after ascertaining the ownership of that

property with a direction to produce the same as and when required or directed by the

Court.

14. In addition to the above Criminal Miscellaneous Petitions , another important

Criminal Miscellaneous Petition used to be filed by the accused in criminal cases are

bail applications filed under Section 436 of Criminal Procedure Code and Sec.437 of

Criminal Procedure Code before the Magistrate Court and Sec.438 of Criminal

Procedure Code and Sec.439 of Criminal Procedure Code before the Sessions Court

for seeking the bail against the accused who is in judicial custody . Under Section 436

of Criminal Procedure Code, Sec.437 and Sec.439 of Criminal Procedure Code

seeking bail applications against the accused who is in judicial custody seeking

protection from arrest under section 438 of Criminal Procedure Code. There is a

separate topic in this workshop for discussion about the bails, Anticipatory bail.

Therefore, there is no need to refer anything more in respect of the bail applications.

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PRAYER

It is therefore, prayed that Hon’ble court may kindly be pleased to order that the

applicant be enlarged on bail and for this humble act of kindness, this Applicant shall

remain your ever grateful.

Place: Submitted By,

Dated:

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