Pratap Singh vs State Of Himachal Pradesh

The Supreme Court held that an accused against whom an order under Section 9 of the Probation of Offenders Act has been passed must have access to a judicial remedy. The Court found that the Himachal Pradesh High Court erred in dismissing the appeal as not maintainable and directed that the appeal should be treated as a petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. for a merits decision. The Court emphasized that the nomenclature of the remedy is less important than the availability of a judicial recourse for the accused.