Typo in high court order 'swaps' verdicts for father & son seeking bail

BHOPAL: A " typographical error " in an Aug 7 verdict by Madhya Pradesh high court almost triggered a procedural misstep when a murder accused who was denied bail, and another whose plea was accepted, swapped places in the printed document uploaded to the court website.

This curious case of clerical oversight got more curious still when the bail applicants turned out to be father and son - Halke and Ashok - arrested on suspicion for lynching shopkeeper Prakash Pal in Vidisha's Tyonda on July 5 last year.

By the time the discrepancy was spotted, Halke's lawyer Amin Khan had already filed a bail bond based on the incorrect information put out on the website. An order to release the bail applicant was also issued to the jail authorities. But Halke's relief was short-lived as court staff contacted his lawyer to say that there had been a goof-up.

Around 6.30pm on Aug 8, hours after the confusion started, Justice Rajesh Kumar Gupta of Gwalior bench recalled the erroneously printed orders mentioning Halke was to be freed on bail while his son Ashok would stay in jail. The father and son were arrested within two days of each other - on July 8 and 10, respectively. During a re-hearing Monday, the judge clarified a typo caused the mix-up. He issued a "fresh and final order".