Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Manoj @ Sonya S/o Ramdas Ghule, filed a criminal writ petition under Articles 14, 19, 21, 22 and 226 of the Constitution of India and the provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Dangerous Persons, Video Pirates, Sand Smugglers and Persons engaged in Blackmarketing of Essential Commodities Act, 1981 (MPDA Act) before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad. The petition sought a writ of habeas corpus to quash the preventive detention order dated 08.02.2017 passed by the Commissioner of Police, Pune City, under Section 3(2) of the MPDA Act. The grounds of detention alleged that the petitioner was a dangerous person engaged in terrorizing people by forming an association of hooligans, using deadly weapons such as pistol, sword, scythe, sattur, and knife, and committing robberies. The Commissioner relied on five pending criminal cases registered against the petitioner between 2012 and 2017 for offences under the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, 1959, and the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, as well as two chapter proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The Commissioner also referred to two recent incidents — C.R. No. 196/2016 dated 01.12.2016 and C.R. No. 3002/2017 dated 10.01.2017 — and two incamera statements of witnesses 'A' and 'B', who alleged that the petitioner demanded hafta and robbed them while threatening to kill. The detention order was accompanied by 304 pages of documents, including FIRs, arrest forms, and bail orders.
The Commissioner of Police forwarded the detention order to the State Government on 11.02.2017, which accorded approval on 15.02.2017 and confirmed it on 22.03.2017. The petitioner made a representation to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) on 03.04.2017, but the petition did not disclose the action taken by the Government or the Advisory Board beyond confirmation.
The petitioner challenged the detention order on five main grounds: (i) The detaining authority failed to record satisfaction about the truthfulness of the incamera statements; (ii) There was non-application of mind, as statements were vague and contained blank spaces; (iii) The grounds did not communicate basic material facts to the petitioner; (iv) There was no live link between the incidents and the date of detention; and (v) Previous acquittals were not considered. The petitioner relied on several precedents, including Smt. Vijay Raju Gupta v. R.H. Mendonca, 2001 ALL M.R. (Cri) 48, Shahjahan Pathan v. State of Maharashtra, 2016 ALL MR (Cri) 4233, Gokul Sabale v. Commissioner of Police, 2017 ALL MR (Cri) 2051, Santosh Mohokar v. State of Maharashtra, 2017 ALL MR (Cri) 2007, Khudiram Das v. State of West Bengal, (1975) 2 SCC 81, and others.
The State supported the detention, stating that the order was approved and confirmed. The High Court heard the matter on 11.08.2017 and reserved judgment. The available text of the judgment ends abruptly after listing the petitioner's grounds and does not contain the court's analysis, findings, or final decision. Consequently, the outcome of the petition, the ratio decidendi, and the detailed judicial reasoning are not ascertainable from the provided excerpt.
Issue of Consideration
1. Whether the detaining authority recorded subjective satisfaction regarding the truthfulness of the incamera statements. 2. Whether there was non-application of mind by the detaining authority. 3. Whether the basic material facts were communicated to the detenu. 4. Whether there was a live link between the prejudicial activities and the date of detention. 5. Whether the detention order was vitiated due to non-consideration of previous acquittals.
Case Details
2017 LawText (BOM) (09) 49
Criminal Writ Petition No. 545 of 2017
S. S. Shinde, A. M. Dhavale
Mr U. N. Tripathi for petitioner, Mrs P. V. Diggikar, APP for respondent/State
Manoj @ Sonya S/o Ramdas Ghule
The Commissioner of Police Pune City, Dist. Pune; The State of Maharashtra, Through Addl. Chief Secretary, Home Department (Special), Mantralaya, Mumbai 32; The Superintendent, Aurangabad Central Prison, Aurangabad
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Nature of Litigation
Criminal writ petition under Articles 226 of the Constitution of India and the MPDA Act, 1981, seeking a writ of habeas corpus to quash the preventive detention order.
Remedy Sought
Quashing of the detention order dated 08.02.2017 and release of the petitioner from Central Prison, Aurangabad.
Filing Reason
The petitioner contended that the detention order was passed without proper application of mind, lacked credible material, and violated procedural safeguards under the Act and the Constitution.
Previous Decisions
The detention order was passed by the Commissioner on 08.02.2017, approved by the State Government on 15.02.2017, and confirmed on 22.03.2017. The petitioner made a representation on 03.04.2017. The petition does not mention any decision by the Advisory Board or further government action.
Issues
Whether the detaining authority recorded subjective satisfaction regarding the truthfulness of the incamera statements as required by law.
Whether there was non-application of mind by the detaining authority due to vague statements and blank spaces.
Whether the basic material facts constituting the grounds were communicated to the petitioner, violating his right to make an effective representation.
Whether there existed a live link between the prejudicial activities and the date of the detention order, considering the gap between incidents and detention.
Whether the detaining authority failed to consider previous acquittals of the petitioner, rendering the detention order invalid.
Submissions/Arguments
Petitioner argued that the detaining authority must ascertain and be satisfied about the truthfulness of the incamera statements and record that satisfaction in the order, which was not done, relying on Vijay Raju Gupta v. Mendonca, Shahjahan Pathan v. State of Maharashtra, Gokul Sabale v. Commissioner of Police, Sanjay Shahu v. State of Maharashtra, and Santosh Mohokar v. State of Maharashtra.
Petitioner contended that there was non-application of mind as the statements were vague and had blank spaces, citing Mrunalini Lonare v. Commissioner of Police and Chandabai Kale v. State of Maharashtra.
Petitioner submitted that the basic material facts were not communicated to him, depriving him of the right to representation, relying on Khudiram Das v. State of West Bengal and Dattatraya Kakade v. District Magistrate, Solapur.
Petitioner argued that there was no live link between the incidents and the date of detention, with a gap of eight months as in Mrunalini Lonare's case.
Petitioner raised the ground that previous acquittals were not considered, though the argument was left incomplete in the available text.
State/Respondent defended the detention, stating that the order was duly forwarded, approved by the Government on 15.02.2017, and confirmed on 22.03.2017, and that the detention was based on sufficient material.
Judgment Excerpts
the petitioner was indulging in dangerous activities like terrorizing the people by forming an association of hooligans and using deadly weapons such as pistol, sword, skythe, sattur & knife and robbing persons
In the incident dt. 10.01.2017, the petitioner was moving brandishing a knife in Kate Colony area and the people fearing the petitioner, had closed their shops. The petitioner was shouting that, if anyone had power, he should come forward, he would kill them one by one.
The Commissioner of Police recorded her subjective satisfaction on the following grounds. (i) That, the acts of the petitioner were within the four corners of the acts of dangerous person as defined under the MPDA Act and he was creating disturbance of public order.
ACP had verified the incamera statements and verified the truthfulness & genuineness thereof.
Procedural History
The detention order was passed on 08.02.2017 by the Commissioner of Police, Pune, under Section 3(2) of the MPDA Act, with grounds supplied on 11.02.2017. The State Government accorded approval on 15.02.2017 and confirmed the order on 22.03.2017. The petitioner made a representation to the Additional Chief Secretary on 03.04.2017. The criminal writ petition was filed before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Aurangabad Bench. The matter was heard on 11.08.2017 and judgment was reserved. The judgment was pronounced on 04.09.2017. The available text does not include the final order.
Acts & Sections
- Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Dangerous Persons, Video Pirates, Sand Smugglers and Persons engaged in Blackmarketing of Essential Commodities Act, 1981: Section 3(2)
- Constitution of India: Articles 14, 19, 21, 22, 226
- Indian Penal Code, 1860: Sections 34, 143, 144, 147, 148, 149, 307, 323, 324, 337, 427, 504, 506(1)
- Arms Act, 1959: Sections 4/25 and 3/25
- Maharashtra Police Act, 1951: Section 37(1)(3)/135
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Sections 107, 110(e)(g)
