The CBI lodged two cases under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, marking yet another procedural shift from the way things used to function before the scrapping ofits special status came into effect last month.

With Jammu and Kashmir becoming a union territory from October 31, criminal cases in the region will be registered under the IPC instead of the Ranbir Penal Code.

In this case, the CBI registered a case against Gram RozgarSahayak Mushtaq Hussain and Joint Engineer (Civil) Sandeep Singh, both attachedto Jungrial panchayat in Rajouri district, for allegedly demanding a bribe ofRs. 50,000 each from Civil Contractor Anchal Singh in return for clearingpending bills. Based on another complaint from Anchal Singh, the CBI filed asecond case under the IPC against Ashok Kumar - Junior Assistant with the BlockDevelopment Office in Rajouri district - on charges of demanding a bribe of Rs.2,000. The CBI has original jurisdiction in Jammu and Kashmir, now that it hasbeen categorised as a Union Territory. The probe agency, therefore, has theauthority to take up corruption and related cases without acquiring thepermission of its administration.

The Ranbir Penal Code, which came into force during thereign of the Dogra dynasty in 1932, was framed on the lines of the IPC. It gotits name from Ranbir Singh, who was the ruler of the Dogra dynasty at the time.

The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has been bifurcatedinto two union territories, one called Ladakh and the other bearing itsoriginal name. Ladakh, which comprises the districts of Leh and Kargil, willnot have a legislature.