Keypoints:
- Cases under section 188 of the IPC section will be withdrawn by the government.
- This brings relief for many people, including celebrities, against whom cases were registered for violating lockdown norms.
On Wednesday, Maharashtra’s Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that the state government will take back cases filed under section 188 of Indian Penal Code against people who had violated various norms during the coronavirus induced lockdown.
Sharing a video on his official Twitter account, Anil Deshmukh wrote,”The State Government will withdraw the offenses filed under IPC Section 188 against violators amidst Covid-19 following judicial norms.”
COVID-19 नियमों का उल्लंघन करने के लिए IPC – 188 के अंतर्गत दाखिल किए गए केसेस को राज्य सरकार न्यायाईक प्रक्रिया का पालन करते हुए वापस लेगी। pic.twitter.com/weHyWghyUZ
— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) January 20, 2021
The State Government will withdraw the offenses filed under IPC Section 188 against violators amidst Covid19 following judicial norms.
— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) January 20, 2021
Section 188 of the IPC states that any person who disobeys an order given by a public servant will be punished with imprisonment up to one month.
“The minister told us that he will consult with the home department on taking back the notices sent to various persons under Section 188 of Indian Penal Code (IPC),” said Pradeep Deshmukh, member of state executive committee of NCP.
The NCP leader in his petition has pointed out that the cases against the violators must be cancelled as they had stepped out to perform their daily chores.
He said, “This would put a heavy strain on the police machinery. The citizens booked are living under the fear that they will face legal action. However, since the citizens have helped the government in combating Covid-19 crisis, we demand that the notices be cancelled on humanitarian grounds. The minister has sent our request to the secretary and we are sure about positive action in this regard,” he said.
Deshmukh met a delegation of NCP office-bearers, on Wednesday, who demanded that most cases were of people out on streets for genuine reasons and the home department should take a humanitarian view and take back the cases.
A complete lockdown was ordered by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 23, 2020. Following Thackeray’s announcement, the 44 police jurisdictions across Maharashtra had issued prohibitory orders in their areas of responsibility under Criminal Procedure Code Section 144, in line with the state’s orders.
