URMILABEN CHAMPAKLAL JAISWAL Vs. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE BARODA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who is the wife of detenu Champaklal Manilal Jaiswal has filed this petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution seeking a writ of habeas corpus or any other suitable writ order or direction against the respondents directing them to set at liberty the said detenu after the detention order is quashed and set aside by this court.

(2.) The detenu has been detained under the provisions of the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Ordinance 1985 the Ordinance for short). The order of detention is at annexure A to the petition. It is dated 11-7-1985. It was issued by the Commissioner of Police Vadodara City. The said order recites that the detaining authority is satisfied with respect to the detenu that with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order covered under the Ordinance it is necessary to make an order directing that the said detenu be detained. The aforesaid detention order has been passed by the Commissioner of Police in exercise of his powers under section 3(2) of the Ordinance in the light of the delegated authority by virtue of the State Government order in the Home Department dated 28-5-1985 recited in the order of detention. On the very same day the detaining authority directed that the detenu be detained in Vadodara Central Prison and should be treated as class II prisoner. The said order is at annexure B to the petition. Along- with the detention order the petitioner was supplied grounds of detention. The grounds of detention are in Gujarati. Relevant recitals of the grounds when translated in English read as under :-

(3.) In support of the aforesaid grounds the detenu was supplied with three sets of documents which are listed below the grounds of detention and which have been supplied to the detenu by way of annexures to the grounds. In the first set are found four statements of witnesses recorded on 11-7-1985. The first statement is of one Khetsing Rajput. According to this witness the detenu is a headstrong person and be threatens people by show of pen-knife and he also terrorises people residing in the locality through help of hirelings. He has been known in the locality as Goonda and anti-social person. It is further stated therein that prior to 2y years the detenu had quarrelled with his daughter Rampyari who was quite young. That quarrel was on account of the fact that the detenu wanted to have illicit relations with her. As the said design of his could not be fructified he had threatened the daughter of the witness with dire consequences and because of his fear his daughter had consumed poison and had committed suicide. That similarly the detenu was giving threats to one Shobhaben widow of Sunderdas Genimal Sadarangani residing in the same society where the witness is residing and he was harbouring a bad intention for her and he was threatening Shobhaben to kill her if his desire is not satisfied. He further stated that during the time of communal riots in the city on 12-6-1985 the detenu alongwith his 10 accomplices whose names are mentioned in the statement and also with the help of 400 to 500 persons had indulged in rioting in Jambudi Kui Tekra area. House of one Lallubhai Khushalbhai Parmar was attacked by this crowd armed with deadly weapons. Great hubbub had ensued in Jambudi Kui area. People had run helter-skelter. Public order was disturbed and atmosphere of fear and harassment prevailed and because of fear people had shut themselves in their houses. After some time police came and the atmosphere was normalised. The detenu was not in the crowd but he had got committed the aforesaid act by instigating his assistants. The other statement recorded on the same date was of Shobhaben. She broadly corroborated the say of Khetsing Rajput. She further stated that as she was afraid of the detenu she could not file complaint against him. That the detenu had given a threat on 4 to the witness and had threatened to kill her. Ultimately when she was persuaded by other people she had filed the complaint before the police. That the detenu had also quarrelled with Rampyari who was residing in the same locality that she was the daughter of witness Khetsing and she had committed suicide by taking poison. On 12 she had gone to the place of her sister-in-law in Jambudi Kui area by about 6-00 p.m. The detenu had instigated his accomplies listed therein and other 400 to 500 persons and that crowd had raided the house of the Lallubhai Khushalbhai in Jambudi Kui area and had damaged the same. There was great hubbub. People were afraid. They Had therefore closed the doors of their houses that had shut them. serves inside their houses and atmosphere of terror and fear had pervaded the entire area and public order was disturbed and that traffic was also disturbed. The next statement was of Parvatiben wife of Lallubhai Khushalbhai Parmar. She generally stated that the detenu was a headstrong person. He was harassing the people residing in the locality and was beating them. He was occasionally misbehaving with young girls and was threatening them with dire consequences. On 12 when she was at her house the detenu had instigated his accomplices and about 400 to 500 persons. The crowd had come to their house at about 6 p.m and assaulted them. They ransacked the house and damaged it. Great hubbub ensued. Big disturbance took place. Traffic on the road was disturbed and atmosphere of fear and terror prevailed. People confined within their houses. Ultimately when the police arrived people got relief. The other statement dated 11-7-1985 is of a person whose name is not disclosed to the detenu in public interest. That statement also has broadly alleged that the detenus activities were nefarious and that he was an anti-social element. He was engineering mischief through his accomplices. The statement further recited that on 12-6-1985 when the witness was at his residence the detenu instigated his accomplices and about 400 to 500 persons to attack his house. Not ensued arid the aforesaid crowd attacked the house of Lallubhai Khushalbhai and also the house of the witness. They damaged his house and other houses in the locality. People ran helter skelter and atmosphere of fear and harassment prevailed. People shut themselves within their house out of fear. Public life `Was disturbed. when the police van arrived on the scene atmosphere got normalised.