In Mumbai criminal intimidation is non-bailable, rules High Court

If you are booked for threatening someone with death or grievous hurt, then you won’t get bail easily. This is the ruling delivered by Bombay High Court recently.

The ruling was delivered by a full Bench presided over by Justice Vidyasagar Kanade, Justice Suresh Gupte and Justice Revati Mohite-Dhere. The full Bench was constituted especially after there was a difference of opinion between the Division Bench of the HC in Goa and another Division Bench in Bombay.

In 1962 the Maharashtra government carried amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1800 and made criminal intimidation non-bailable and a cognisable offence, when committed in Mumbai.

The government had carried these amendments by exercising its powers as delegated by Section 10 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932.

The Goa Bench of the HC had held that there is no power vesting in the state government to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1800. On the contrary, the Division Bench at Bombay had held that the government has special powers under the Criminal Law Amendment Act and had also upheld its amendment.

After considering all the submissions and views, Justice Kanade, who headed the full Bench, said, “We are unable to accept the observation made by the Goa Bench as the Division Bench there, in our humble view, erred in treating the notification as an exercise of power of amendment. It has failed to take into consideration that Section 10 confers delegated power to amend sections 188 or 506 of the Indian Penal Code in a specified area in Maharashtra.”

“We therefore uphold the amendment of the government making criminal intimidation non-bailable and cognisable in Mumbai,” Justice Kanade said.

Earlier, in 1962, the Maharashtra government carried amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1800 and made criminal intimidation non-bailable and a cognisable offence, when committed in Mumbai