Sweep hospital floors to evade arrest

In a trend-setting order, the Andhra Pradesh high court has asked a software engineer to sweep the premises of a government hospital for an hour everyday for a month. The techie is an accused in an eve-teasing case. However, the 21-year old Dell employee had applied for an anticipatory bail. After hearing his bail plea, the court agreed to grant it on the condition that the engineer does the service at the hospital.

However, the ‘sweeping order’ applies only to the anticipatory bail application and not the actual case against him.

M Dinesh Kumar and his friend Bala Ranga Sai are accused of teasing two women in Malkajgiri on March 21. The girls were out with their friend Venkata Krishna when Dinesh Kumar and Sai passed by in a motorcycle. The two stopped and misbehaved with the girls, by pulling their dupattas. Locals caught hold of Sai and beat him up.
Kumar fled.

Venkata Krishna filed a complaint against the two and an FIR was registered under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC.

Kumar applied for anticipatory bail to evade arrest. After trying in vain in a lower court, he approached the high court. Kumar’s counsel told the court the accused would lose his job if arrested. Justice B Chandrakumar agreed to grant anticipatory bail on the condition that the accused sweeps the premises of Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad for an hour everyday for a  month. The accused was allowed to choose the timings. He will also have to sign on the hospital register to record his attendance.

For getting bail, the judge asked the accused to surrender before the Malkajgiri police station within a week and seek bail by submitting two bonds of Rs10,000 each.