Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Cabinet on Tuesday cleared a bill to re-introduce the provision of anticipatory bail, which had been revoked in the state during the Emergency in 1976. The draft Code of Criminal Procedure (Uttar Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2018, will now be tabled in the upcoming monsoon session of the state Assembly for clearance, after which it will be sent to the Centre for final approval. The draft bill also proposes amendments for Uttar Pradesh in section 438 (anticipatory bail) of CrPC. One of them is that it will not be necessary for the accused to be present during the hearing for anticipatory bail. It also proposes certain mandatory conditions or riders to be imposed by the court before considering granting anticipatory bail, including not allowing the provision in case of serious crimes where death sentence is likely. Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar, chairperson of the committee formed to make the draft, said, “Apart from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, all other states have the provision of anticipatory bail. The draft bill proposes amendments in the CrPC under section 438. This provision was stopped in the state in 1976. The government now plans to re-introduce it in a modified form.” Kumar further said directions had been given by the high court in this regard in 2006, while it was hearing a writ petition. In 2009, the State Law Commission had also made a recommendation for its re-introduction. In 2010, a bill in this regard was cleared by the state Assembly and sent to the Centre for approval. However, it was put on hold following certain provisions. He added that in 2011, the President had written back to the state citing reasons for putting the bill on hold. Last month, in an application pending before the Supreme Court, the state government had given assurance that the provision would be re-introduced. Kumar said that the committee — which also included the director general (prosecution) and officials of the law department — had studied the shortcomings of the past and utilisation of the provision in other states. “Under the section 438 of the CrPC, imposing conditions or riders before such bail, has been left on the discretion of the court. However, in the UP amendment, we have made certain riders mandatory — like the accused would have to be present for interrogation whenever required by police, the accused will not threaten anyone directly or indirectly involved with the case and that the accused will not leave the country without the permission of the court,” he added. Another amendment the state has proposed is that the court would have to decide on the application for anticipatory bail within 30 days of filling of such an application. “West Bengal has this provision. After the bill is cleared by the state Assembly, it will be sent to the Government of India as it concerns the Code for Criminal Procedure,” said Kumar. The Cabinet also cleared the ‘Supplementary Demands for Grants’, which it plans to table in the Assembly next week. Cabinet minister Srikant Sharma, who is also the government spokesperson, said that the Cabinet on Tuesday paid tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by observing 2 minutes’ silence. A condolence message was also read out by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. As a mark of respect to Vajyapee, the state government decided to name the upcoming Bundelkhand Expressway as ‘Atal Path’. The government, which had announced a number of schemes as a tribute to the former prime minister, will soon issue a notification to rename Bundelkhand Expressway after Vajpayee, said state Transport Minister Swatantra Dev Singh, according to a PTI report. Start your day the best way with the Express Morning Briefing For all the latest Lucknow News, download Indian Express App

Stay updated with all the Lucknow Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.