Trongsa court cancels former lecturer’s bail

TRONGSA, Bhutan (Kuensel/ANN) - The Trongsa district court cancelled the bail of the author of the book ‘Turning point’ and former lecturer of Taktse college yesterday.

Trongsa police on January 13 submitted to the court that the content of the book, released recently, was related to the police investigation and sexual harassment case that the author was involved in. Its publication and distribution was sub judice.

The defendant was on conditional bail since July 2019.

A police representative submitted that the publishing and distribution of the book while on bail is contempt of the court and defamation of the investigating Police officers.

As per section 80 of the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code (CCPC) the defendant was given an opportunity for clarification.

The author and former lecturer in his clarification submitted that the book he published was about the turning point of his life based on the true facts and personal experience he had undergone after the prison term and also cited Article 7 of the Constitution.

The court after hearing the defendant’s clarification, reading through the book he had published and his Facebook posts, ruled that the book published and the several posts the defendant made on the social media were related to the ongoing case in the court.

The court stated that the defendant’s act was an act of sub judice as per section 189 of the CCPC.

The defendant is said to have also violated the section 102.1 (A) of CCPC, the section states that a person may be subjected to civil or criminal sanction in accordance with the laws of contempt for interfering with a case, either orally or in writing.

The court found him guilty of violating section 199.4 (D) of CCPC, which states that a person released on bail shall be required to abstain from making any inducement, threat or promise, directly or indirectly to a person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade the person from disclosing such facts to the court or police.

The defendant was sent back to the police custody.

On the request to issue an injunction order to stop the book’s distribution, the court will hear from Bhutan InfoCom and Media Authority before deciding as they have issued the registration number of the book.

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  • Trongsa court cancels former lecturer’s bail

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