JUDGMENT : 1. Babu Suraj Prosad Vaish has applied to this Court for the transfer of a case pending against him in the Court of Chaube Salig Earn Pathak, Magistrate of the First Class, Etah. One of the grounds taken in the affidavit on which the application for transfer is based is set out as follows: “That on 29th September Lala’ Kanaiah Lal, a big trader of Kasganj, was examined as a witness for the defence. That at the close of his examination the learned Magistrate asked the said witness whether the two accused had ever been challaned in any badmashi case” I called upon the learned Magistrate for a report as to the quarter from which he received the assurance that a case of being a bad character had ever been instituted against either Babu Suraj Prosad or Babu Lachhman Prosad. In reply the learned Magistrate says that he received this assurance from the police peshi clerk attached to the Court. Under the circumstances, the question asked by the Magistrate was in the highest degree an improper question, and I am surprised that any Magistrate should have allowed himself to have put such a question, unless he had satisfied himself on the highest and best information that there was some real foundation for the facts mentioned in the question. I do not consider that an assurance received from a police peshi clerk attached to the Court was a sufficient ground for putting such a question. 2. The learned Magistrate goes on in his explanation to add some further remarks which were never asked for by this Court and they are highly improper. It would have been well if the Magistrate before putting the question had made some inquiries which he now says he made, and had satisfied himself by sending for the register and seeing whether it was the case that at the present time there was any ground for the imputations suggested in the question. Sufficient ground has been shown that there is cause to apprehend that a fair and impartial trial will note be held. Sufficient ground has been shown that there is cause to apprehend that a fair and impartial trial will note be held. Therefore I direct that the case be transferred from the Court of Chaube Salig Ram Pathak to the Court of the District Magistrate of Etah who will try the case himself or have it tried by some Magistrate, other than Chaube Salig Ram Pathak, who may be competent to deal with the case.