MOHMAD SALIM ALIAS SALIM KHAN Vs. POLICE COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner-detenu has brought under challenge the detention order dated 5/7/1996 passed by the respondent No. 1 under Sec. 3(1) of the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 (Act No. 16 of 1985), (for short "the PASA Act").

(2.) The grounds on which the impugned order of detention has been passed appear at Annexure-C. They inter-alia indicate that the petitioner by himself and with the aid of his associates Sabirkhan Pathan and others have been indulging in unlawful and criminal activities of committing thefts of motor vehicles and have been creating a feeling of insecurity amongst the vehicles owners. Following offences have been registered against the petitioner: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_691_GCD2_1997Html1.htm</FRM> It has further been recited that the petitioner and his associates were involved in the offences of robbery and dacoity. The police had an information that petitioner and his associates had assembled in the estate located behind Shere Punjab Hotel near Chandola Lake with an intention to commit decoity. Upon the police raiding the place, the petitioner and his associates with the aid of one another opened firing on the police party and attempted to commit murder by causing hurt to the police person/s. This resulted in the police counteracting and opening firing. Persons of both the parties ultimately came to be injured in the encounter. As a result of this incident, following offence came to be registered against the petitioner and his associates in the Ahmedabad City DCB Police Station :

(3.) Proceeding further to consider the necessity of detaining the petitioner, who was in judicial custody, the detaining authority has referred to the statements of four witnesses in respect of unregistered incidents dated 7/4/1996 and 29/4/1996. It has been asserted that at about 5.00 o'clock in evening of 7/4/1996 the petitioner demanded Rs. 500/- from the concerned witness, who having given Rs. 200/- only, was threatened. He was brought on to the public road opposite Ganj Shahid Dargah and beaten. On the witness having shouted for help people collected at the place of the incident, the petitioner and his associates rushed to the people with weapons resulting in atmosphere of fear amongst the people collected there. Similar is the pattern of the incident dated 29/4/1996, which occurred around 12.30 O'clock in the after-noon, the cause of the incident being non-payment of price of goods purchased by the petitioner and his associates.