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The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday granted interim bail to an accused in a case registered under the provisions of the Indian Justice Code (IPC), which came into force on July 1. This was the first such order passed by the High Court for an offence registered under the Act.
According to a report by Bar & Bench, the accused, Baldev Singh, was booked on July 1 at the Jawalamukhi police station in Kangra district under sections 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS. He was also charged under sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
In this case, accused Baldev Singh appeared physically before the Himachal High Court on July 4 and surrendered. Advocate Ganesh Barowalia appeared in court on behalf of the petitioner. The petitioner’s lawyer filed a petition and sought bail from the court. Justice Rakesh Kanthala, keeping in mind the nature of the crime, released the accused on interim bail on the condition of a personal bond of Rs 25,000.
The court also directed Baldev Singh to join the investigation if directed by the police. The court gave two weeks’ time to Additional Advocate General Jitendra K Sharma, appearing for the state, to file a reply to the accused’s bail plea. The court also directed the state to inform the petitioner about the current status of the bail application and the scheduled hearing. The next hearing of the case will be on July 14.
It is worth noting that the Indian Judicial Code became effective from July 1, 2024 after being passed by Parliament in December 2023. It will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which dates back to the time of British India.
