SRINAGAR: A local court in Awantipora on Monday awarded punishment of community service to two individuals for creating public nuisance while under the influence of alcohol, in one of the first such judgments under the newly implemented Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The Judicial Magistrate First Class, Awantipora, delivered the sentence after the accused—Gowher Hilal Bhat, son of Mohammad Akram Bhat of Khrew, and Mukhtar Singh, son of Karnail Singh of Amritsar, Punjab, currently residing at Panthachowk, Srinagar—were found guilty of public misconduct.
According to police, the duo was apprehended on April 8 during routine patrols by personnel from Police Post Toll Plaza. Both men were allegedly intoxicated and were seen misbehaving with passers-by and disrupting public order.
Following their arrest, the necessary legal procedures were carried out, and the individuals were charged under Section 355 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which pertains to public misbehaviour.
In a move aligning with the reformative approach of the new criminal code, the court sentenced the offenders to community service rather than conventional imprisonment or fines. Community service has recently been incorporated into the justice system to promote rehabilitation and social accountability.
