Recently, the Odisha High Court starts the major cleanliness drive and orders accused individuals to clean police stations as a condition for bail. A reports show that these orders are different for anti-mining protestors cases. HC has issued at least 50 similar orders.
Odisha HC order accused to clean police stations for bail
Justice SK Panigrahi of Odisha HC issued around 50 orders to direct accused to clean police stations, hospitals, village roads, local ponds and banks. The records from e-courts show that no other judge of the High Court has imposed bail orders with these requirements.
Justice Panigrahi included these directions in orders granting bail for various offenses, from theft to murder. Every order specified when the accused must perform the “cleaning” duties, typically for two to three hours between 6 and 10 a.m. The orders also outlined the duration for which the bail condition would apply, generally between one and three months.
Does imposing such conditions fair for all criminals?
Besides the lack of a legal basis for imposing such conditions during bail, there appears to be no consistent relationship between crime and punishment in these orders. People accused of murder and those accused of theft received the same community service order, despite serving different lengths of time in custody.
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