(1.) The detention order dated 24th Feb., 2003 passed by respondent No. 2, District Magistrate, Muzaffar Nagar under Sec. 3 (2) of National Security Act, 1980, against the petitioner has been challenged by him.
(2.) The grounds of detention are contained in Annexure-10 to the writ petition. The detention order is based on an incident of Case Crime No. 7 of 2003 of Police Station, Thana Bhawani, District Muzaffar Nagar which took place on 17th Jan., 2003 at about 5.00 p.m. in village Mundait. The report was lodged at 7.10 p.m. the same day by Harendra Singh son of Maharoop Singh. The petitioner and his associates allegedly reached the roof of the house of one Maharaj Singh scaling through the roofs of others and opened a volley of shots on informant, his father and brother, Brijendra who tried to come down through the stairs for safety, but petitioner's brother Kunwar Pal opened shots on the informant's brother and petitioner-Vipin opened fire on the informant's father. Both of them sustained firearm injuries and died at the spot tumbling down from the stairs. The incident created terror in the area. People ran helter-skelter. The petitioner and his associates ran away, flatuting their firearms, holding out that if anybody cared to tender evidence against them, he would meet the same fate. The incident adversely affected public order and the even tempo of public life was disturbed. The previous background was that on 9th Feb., 1999, the petitioner and his associates had injured informant's brother Brijendra by shooting and the case was pending before the Court. 23rd Jan., 2003 was fixed in that case for the evidence of the informant's father. Petitioner, his brothers and father harboured grudge against the informant and his family. A number of times, they had created pressure for arriving at a compromise with regard to that incident. On 17th Jan., 2003 also (before the happening resulting in two murders), informant's father Maharoop Singh and brother Brijendra Singh had gone to operate their tubewell, finding that the electric wires between the transformer and their line were cut and the same had been joined with that of petitioner's father. When Brijendra Singh tried to reconnect the wires, Vinod did not let him to do so hurling abuses. Informant's father and brother had come back to their house out of fear. It was thereafter that the incident of double murder took place in the manner stated above.
(3.) Counter and rejoinder-affidavits have been exchanged.