BABU Vs. THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER Babu @ Vellai Babu @ Babu Reddy has been detained as a goonda under Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982, in pursuance of an order of detention dated 12 -5 -1993 passed by the second respondent, District Magistrate and Collector, Chengalpattu MGR District at Kancheepuram, with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.

(2.) PETITIONER had come to adverse notice in five prior crimes registered by Avadi Police Station under Ss.457 and 380 I.P.C., crime period ranging between January, 1992 and March, 1993. Second adverse case alone was registered under Ss.147, 148, 452, 341, 326, 324, 307 and 302, I.P.C. All the adverse cases were either ready for trial or pending investigation.

(3.) MR . V. Parthiban, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, contended that pages 23, 25, 27, 91, 92, 95, 96, 100, 103, 104, 117, 118, 119, 121, 187, 189, 199, 201 and 243 in the paper book supplied to the detenue were illegible and that would suffice to show lack of proper communication. We have perused those pages referred to by petitioner's Counsel. Most of them relate to accident registers, be it in the adverse crimes or in the ground crime. Though there is some illegibility in the copies of the accident registers supplied in English, petitioner has been furnished with Tamil translations of those accident registers, which are very legible with complete clarity. Therefore, petitioner who knows Tamil, cannot complain that due to illegibility, he was prejudiced to make an effective representation. Some of the other pages have to be read with a little strain, due to the nature of handwriting, but they cannot be stated to be illegible. We read for ourselves parts of those pages and we are satisfied that with some little effort, those pages can certainly be read. It will always be better for the detaining authority to furnish copies of documents relied upon in typed script, for them there cannot be complaints about illegibility, for certain times we do come across difficulty in reading handwritten matters, which are eligible due to the pattern of writing by the scribes concerned. In the instant case, petitioner cannot succeed on the first ground.