RAJAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has challenged the detention order dated 21-1-2005 passed against him by respondent no.3 - District Magistrate, Fatehpur under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act, 1980 and his continued detention thereunder.

(2.) The grounds of detention are contained in Annexure-1 to the writ petition. The detention order is grounded on an incident which happened in between the night of 12/ 13th December 2004. At about 10 p.m. on 12.12.2004 S.I. Prabha Shankar Shukla of Police Station Manjhanpur, District Kaushambi with other police personnel and public witnesses, on a tip off, had reached Village Pur Buzurg, Police Station Asodhar, District Fatehpur in search of murder case accused - Mahendra Pal and others at the house of Ram Naresh alias Ganesh. The door was knocked with the flashing of torch and the inmates of the house were given to understand that they were police personnel. Mahendra Pal was also inside the house of Ram Naresh @ Ganesh along with other inmates. Seeing the police from the roof top, they did not open the door and purposely started raising shouts. Seeing no other way, the police personnel started to come back to the jeep with which they had travelled. In the way, the petitioner and others engaged them on the pretext of conversation, exhibiting concern. When sufficient number of persons had collected there, the petitioner and others, hurling abuses on police personnel with exhortation, shouted that they (police personnel) be killed for the temerity of making raid in their village, Sub-Inspector Prabha Shankar Shukla was pushed down to the ground. On the call of the petitioner, his family members and his other associates launched assault or. the police personnel resorting to firing too. As a result, Constable Ravindra Kumar Tiwari was shot dead at the spot. The petitioner and his associates gheraoed other police personnel, assaulting them. Somehow, Constable Sewa Lal managed to sneak to run to the Police Station, but he was chased and assaulted by lathis by the associates of the petitioner and he fell down unconscious. Ultimately, the police of Asodhar, District Fatehpur reached the spot at about 1.30 o'clock in the night and with great efforts the police personnel could be rescued with the arrest of the petitioner and his associates. A case registered as crime no. 137 of 2005, under section 147/148/149/323/332/342/504/ 302/307/353 I.P.C. and 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act against the petitioner and others at Police Station Asodhar, District Fatehpur. The above incident completely destroyed the public order. An atmosphere of terror and insecurity was created. The grounds of detention also stated that the petitioner was attempting to be bailed out in the crime aforesaid and his application had been rejected by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Fatehpur on 6.1.2004. He had applied for bail before the Sessions Judge, Fatehpur and there was every possibility of his indulging in similar activities prejudicial to maintenance of public order on his being released on bail.

(3.) Counter and rejoinder affidavits have been exchanged. We have heard Shri Dharmendra Singhal, learned counsel for the petitioner. Shri K.C.Sinha, learned counsel for Union of India and Shri Arvind Tripathi learned A.G. A. representing respondent nos. 2,3 and 4.