The Court Made the following order :

An important question, "In the State of Tamil Nadu, whether an offence punishable under Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code is bailable or non-bailable under the First Schedule to The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973?" has arisen for consideration in this Criminal Original Petition.

2. Apprehending arrest at the hands of the respondent -police in Crime No.593 of 2011, on the file of the respondent police for offences under Sections 294(b) and 353 of the Indian Penal Code, the petitioner has come up with this Criminal Original Petition, seeking Anticipatory Bail. According to the petitioner, the offence punishable under Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code is non-bailable and, therefore, this Criminal Original Petition is maintainable.

3. During the course of hearing, a doubt arose as to whether the said offence is non-bailable despite the passing of The Indian Penal Code and The Code of Criminal Procedure [Tamil Nadu Amendment] Act, 2006, by the Tamil Nadu Assembly. This doubt, therefore, needs a detailed debate.

4. Prior to the introduction of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2005 (Central Act 25 of 2005), undoubtedly,