Saurabh alias Chhotoo vs District Magistrate and Others

K.K. Misra, J.—The Petitioner has challenged the detention order dated 30.7.2005, passed against him by the District Magistrate, Jhansi-Respondent No. 1 u/s 3(2) of the National Security Act, 1980 and his continued detention thereunder.

The grounds of detention are contained in Annexure-2 to the writ petition. The detention order was passed on the basis of an F.I.R. registered as Case Crime No. 1435 of 2005 under Sections 147,148, 149, 302, 504 and 506, I.P.C. P.S. Kotwali, district Jhansi, relating to an incident which took place on 30.5.2005 at about 8-30 p.m. The F.I.R. was lodged by one Brijesh Kumar Sharma against the present Petitioner and six others, in which one Rajesh alias Ranu was alleged to have been stabbed by Kapil, Manish alias Patiey, Dilip Lahariya, Durgesh, Chintoo, Chhuttu Pandit alias Ankit and the present Petitioner. The present Petitioner was alleged to have stabbed the deceased with knife.

Counter and rejoinder-affidavits have been exchanged.

We have heard Sri S. N. Gupta, counsel for the Petitioner, Sri Arvind Tripathi A.G.A. for the State.

The sole point argued by the counsel for the Petitioner is that the grounds relied upon by the detaining authority in passing the impugned order in question did not at all relate to public order. Instead, they could simply raise the question of law and order. It has been argued that the detention order has been passed by the authority concerned without application of mind. Indeed, the intensity of the complained act and its impact on the society has to be considered to ascertain as to whether it is a question of law and order or public order. In the present case, the incident is alleged to have taken place in the night. It has come in the F.I.R. that when the accused were loudly exhorting each other during the course of committing this crime, the inverter was on which goes to show that there was no light in the locality. The incident which took place in the cover of the darkness and in which the Petitioner has been given the role of knifing the victim, had nothing to do with the breach of public order. While considering the question whether a particular incident gave rise to breach of public order or it was only breach of law and order, it has to be seen as to what is the reach of the Incident on the society. The present case at best can be said to be a murder committed in a dark night at about 8.30 p.m. when there was no light and the market was almost closed.

In similar writ petition of the co-accused in Writ Petition No. 71190 of 2005 this Court has held that the incident whereupon the instant detention order is grounded is not relatable to disturbance of the public order.

In view of the above, we come to the conclusion that the incident whereupon the instant detention order is grounded is not relatable to disturbance of the public order.

In the result, we allow the writ petition and quash the impugned detention order dated 30.7.2005, passed against the Petitioner by the Respondent No. 1.

It is ordered that the detenu Saurabh alias Chhotoo shall be released forthwith, if not wanted in any other connection.