PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 28 -- The Allahabad high court has directed the trial courts across Uttar Pradesh to not defer framing of charges in criminal trials merely because an accused has filed a revision petition or appeal against the order rejecting his discharge application. The court said the trial courts are under a "statutory duty" to frame charges if a plea seeking discharge is rejected, unless a superior court has specifically stayed that order. Justice Chawan Prakash passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by one Avanish Chandra Srivastava, a retired government employee, who is an accused in a 2004 cheating case. The petitioner had challenged an order of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Kaushambi, by which his application for discharge was rejected. In its order dated January 8, the court expressed concern over a recurring trend in which trial courts adjourn the framing of charges or defer the final hearing of cases solely on the pretext that a criminal revision or a writ petition is pending before the high court, even in the absence of a stay order. "It is a settled provision of law that merely filing of criminal revision or criminal appeal against any order, does not amount that the proceedings of the said Court, has been stayed", the court observed. It further said in case the sessions court or the magistrate did not find any ground to discharge the accused, then unless the order rejecting the discharge application is challenged and stayed by the higher court, the sessions court and the magistrate courts are statutorily bound to frame charges against the accused under Section 228 CrPC and 240 CrPC respectively.htc...