TEKA BAHADUR Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - The District Magistrate, Burdwan by an order dated 9th February, 1972 made under sub-section (1) read with sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, 1971 directed that the petitioner be detained on the ground that with a view to preventing him from acting in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community it was necessary to detain him. The grounds of detention served on the petitioner at the time of his arrest were in the following terms:

(2.) We do not think this contention of the petitioner has any force. The grounds of detention furnished to the petitioner in the present case alleged, in respect of both the incidents, that the persons responsible were the petitioner and his associates including Sankar Bouri and Ganesh Das. Sankar Bouri and Ganesh Das were not the only associates of the petitioner who were supposed to have participated in the two incidents. There were also others. These others could well have included Mohd. Subrati. Similarly, the grounds of detention in the case of Mohd. Subrati alleged the participation of Mohd. Subrati and his associates including the petitioner and Ganesh Das in respect of both the incidents. Here also the petitioner and Ganesh Das were not the only associates implicated in the two incidents. There were other associates also and they could well have included Sankar Bouri. There was, therefore, no inconsistency between the grounds of detention in the two cases which might warrant an inference that the District Magistrate had not applied his mind to the case of the petitioner but mechanically signed the order of detention.

(3.) This was the only contention urged on behalf of the petitioner - indeed no other contention was available to him - and since there is no substance in it, the petition fails and the rule is discharged.