With the Panaji bench of Bombay High Court declining to review its ruling that section 506 of the IPC providing for criminal intimidation was non-cognizable, social activist Aires Rodrigues has decided to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

A division bench comprising Justices A S Oka and F M Reis heard the review petition filed by Mr Rodrigues seeking review of the ruling made while disposing a petition filed by Health Minister Viswajit Rane challenging the charge sheet filed against Rane related to threat to kill Mr Rodrigues in 2007.

Advocate Mr Rodrigues has stated that the Supreme Court would also have to examine on the point of law, the decision of the High Court that the Goa government had no powers to issue a notification making Section 506 cognizable.

Incidentally Section 506 was made cognizable by a notification issued by the Goa Government in 1973, when Mr Pratapsingh Rane, father of Mr Vishwajit Rane was the Law Minister and over the years hundreds of persons have been chargesheeted under this section.

However, when section 506 was invoked against Mr Vishwajit Rane, the Goa Government suddenly took a stand that the section is non-cognizable and instructed all public prosecutors to withdraw cases filed by the police under Section 506 of IPC.

UNI