Pune: A court in Pune has given a shock to those who misbehave by consuming alcohol in public places, as the accused have been sentenced to clean public places for three hours every day for four days (community service). Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vikramsingh Bhandari of Shivajinagar District Sessions Court directed in this regard.
The names of those sentenced are Vinod Vasant Makode (age 32), Sagar Ramkrishna Bodade (age 36, Doeghe resident Sangvi Khurd, Akola district). On December 2, the police saw the accused Makode and Bodade misbehaving in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) Officer area. Police personnel of Shivajinagar Police Station, while patrolling the same area, saw both of them creating a ruckus, so they were detained. After it was revealed that the two had consumed alcohol, a case was registered against them at Shivajinagar Police Station.
Shivajinagar Police filed a case in the court in this regard. Makode and Tayde confessed to the crime in court. After that, Bhandari sentenced both of them to clean in public places. This sentence was given under Maharashtra Government Gazette Extraordinary Part 4 – C. Makode and Bodade will have to clean in public places under the supervision of Shivajinagar Police, the court said in the order.
A Pune court has gone hard on those who misbehaved in public places after getting drunk and consequently sentenced them to clean public places (community service) under the supervision of Shivajinagar Police, the court order stated.
Under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police Rajesh Bansode, Deputy Commissioner Krushikesh Rawale, Assistant Commissioner Sainath Thombre, Senior Police Inspector Mahesh Bolkotgi of Shivajinagar Police Station, Police Inspector Dhananjay Pingale of Crime Branch, Police personnel Sudhir Ghotkule, Makhare, Tayde, and Kamble supervised the court proceedings.
What constitutes social service?
‘From July 1, 2024, the new Criminal Code was implemented across the country. In various types of punishment, the punishment of community service for minor crimes was included as an alternative to traditional punishments.
Citizens should be made aware of their responsibility towards social work as citizens of the country, and the responsibility of social work should be made aware through social punishment. Law and order should be maintained. The number of prisoners in prisons should be reduced, the pressure on the prison administration should be reduced, and the accused should be allowed to reform. They should not be seen as accused in society. Senior lawyer S. K. Jain said that the alternative punishment of community service has been included with the idea of giving them an opportunity to integrate into society.
“Such punishments are prevalent in foreign countries’ laws. They are used effectively abroad. Foreign citizens, if they commit a crime, especially in cases of motor vehicle accidents, come forward and show their readiness to do community service as punishment,” he said.
