Sidhi urination row: Accused booked under non-bailable Sections, says advocate

Accused Pravesh Shukla, who was arrested by the police for peeing on tribal man Dashmat Rawat, was booked under various Sections of the IPC, including NSA and SC/ST Act NSA. How long he will remain behind bars? ETV Bharat spoke to some of the legal experts in this regard.

Bhopal: Amid the row over the Sidhi urination incident, the accused Pravesh Shukla, who has been booked under the NSA, is set to remain in jail for at least six months as several sections were non-bailable. ETV Bharat spoke to some of the legal experts about how long he will remain behind bars. Anurag Maheshwari, an advocate practising at the High Court, said that except for two sections, all three were non-bailable. "It will be the discretion of the court to grant bail to the accused or not. Hence, in such a situation it will be difficult for the accused to seek bail from the court at any stage."

Advocate Saurabh Srivastava says that it will not be possible for the accused to come out of jail for at least six months, because NSA was non-bailable. "The accused was booked under the SC/ST Act also. It is generally argued in the court that the accused was not knowing the caste of the victim. On the spur of the moment, the accused insulted the victim. But in this case, the accused was knowing the victim."

"Accused Pravesh Shukla was aware of Dashmat Rawat's identity. Rawat belongs to Kol tribal community. Hence, in this case, the accused plea before the court will not be acceptable. Perhaps he will not get bail even under the SC/ST Act. The minimum jail term under the SC/ST Act is at least six months or up to five years as well as a fine will be imposed, said Srivastava, adding, "A person booked under NSA can be kept in jail for a minimum of up to three months, which can be extended for three more months. But, not more than 12 months." Pravesh Shukla was booked by Bahari police under Sections 294 (obscene acts), and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code, and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.