Uttarakhand's lower courts will be able to produce anticipatory bail

Dehradun, September 21: People seeking anticipatory bail will not have to knock at the doors of the High Court in Uttarakhand as they will now be able to get it in the lower courts, an official said on Thursday.

 

The bench of Acting Chief Justice Rajeev Sharma and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari passed the order while sharing a petition against a single bench order on this matter, the official added.

The High Court made Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which empowers the High Court and the Sessions Court to grant anticipatory bail, active in the state.

The HC said the appellants had challenged the judgment of September 11, 2018 rendered by single judge of the HC. The HC said these appeals had sought a direction, declaring the provisions contained under Section 9 of the CrPC (UP Amendment) Act, 1976, as applicable to Uttarakhand, as ultra vires (void) being violative of Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India.

Single Judge dismissed the writ petitions on September 11, 2018, following which the appellants filed these appeals before the division bench, the HC said. The HC allowed both the appeals and set aside the judgment, challenged by the appellants. Uttar Pradesh, by an amendment carried out by way of Section 9 of CrPC (UP) Act, 1976 had omitted Section 438 of the CrPC,1973.