NIRAV KHEMSHANKER VYAS Vs. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the learned Advocates for the respective parties.

(2.) The petitioners in all these three petitions, a Police Sub-Inspector and the contables, are co-accused in an offence registered as C. R. No. 380 of 1998 in Kagdapith Police Station for the offences punishable under Secs. 318, 506(2), 170 and 114 I.P.C. and under Sec. 25(1) of the Arms Act. Pursuant to the said offence, all the writ petitioners are detained under the orders of preventive detention dated 1st September, 1998 made by the Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad under the powers conferred upon him under sub-sec. 1 of Sec. 3 of the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as, 'the Act'). All the three detention orders are based on the same evidence and common questions of law arise in all these three petitions. The petitions are, therefore, disposed of by this common judgment.

(3.) The grounds of detention served upon the respective petitioner along with the order of detention suggest that apart from the above referred offence registered against the writ petitioners, further information has been received by the concerned authorities in the form of statements by the witnesses. The first witness, whose identity has been withheld, has stated that on 10th August, 1998 when he was passing nearby Raipur Darwaja, three persons came and detained him and asked him to open his bag. These three persons feigned themselves to be personnel from the Office of Directorate of Prohibition, looking for narcotic traffickers. Upon inspection of his bag, nothing objectionable was found. The witness thereupon was threatened of a case under the Narcotic Act and at the point of revolver, the witness was robbed of Rs. 7000/-. This incident attracted passers-by and a crowd gathered. On petitioner's (i.e., the petitioner in Special Civil Application No. 7809 of 1998) aiming a revolver at the crowd, the people became panicky and started running away. The incident narrated by the second witness is that of llth August, 1998. The petitioners are alleged to have visited the place of business of witness at around 9.00 O'clock in the evening and projected themselves to be personnel from the office of Directorate of Prohibition and stated that they had received information that the stock of liquor was stored in the shop of the witness and they had come to raid the premises. Upon inspection, no liquor was found from the witness's shop. When the witness stated that he never consumed the liquor nor did he keep liquor, the irritated petitioner-Nirav Vyas, the petitioner in Special Civil Application No. 7809 of 1998, took out his revolver and aimed at the witness and the two others abused the witness. The three, thereafter robbed the witness of Rs. 5000/-, his turnover of the day. Upon witness demanding for the said money, all the three dragged the witness out of his shop to the public road and started beating him. The witness having shouted for help, the people gathered there. Even the petitioners abused the people gathered there and the petitioner Nirav Vyas aimed his revolver at the crowd, creating terror. The crowd became panicky and ran helter-skelter. The witness being afraid of retaliation by the petitioners did not complain about the incident in question.