JIWANBHAI BHAILALBHAI PATANWADIA Vs. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has assailed the detention order passed against him by the Commissioner of Police, Vadodara City, the respondent No.1 herein, on 24th September, 2002, on the ground that the detention order is illegal, unconstitutional and invalid.

(2.) The main question which falls for consideration and adjudication in this writ petition is whether the order of detention under the provisions of Section 3(2) of the Prevention of Anti Social Activities Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") was made with a view to prevent the detenu from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order since he was a "bootlegger" within the meaning of Section 2(b) of the Act?.

(3.) The main purpose and object of the Act is to provide for preventive detention of "bootleggers", "dangerous persons", drug offenders, immoral traffic offenders, property grabbers, etc. for preventing their anti-social and dangerous activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. In the present case, the detenu has been labelled as "bootlegger". The definition of "bootlegger" is exhaustively provided in clause (b) of Section 2 of the Act, which reads thus: