SANJAY SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Sri Daya Shanker Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Nitin Gupta, learned counsel for the Union of India and Sri. J. K. Upadhyay, learned AGA for the State.

(2.) This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner Sanjay Singh with a prayer to issue a writ in the nature of habeas corpus commanding the respondents to produce the corpus of the petitioner before this Court and to set him at liberty and also to quash the order of detention dated 18.10.2013, Annexure-5 to the writ petition passed by respondent no.3/ District Magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar.

(3.) The impugned order of detention passed by respondent no.3 in the exercise of his power conferred on him under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act (hereinafter referred to as "NSA") and the grounds of detention under Section 8 of the NSA were served on the petitioner while he was confined to District Jail, Basti on account of his being accused in case crime no. 557 of 2013, under Sections 143, 307, 353, 504, 506 IPC and 7 Crl. Law Amendment Act, P.S. Dhanghata, District Sant Kabir Nagar, case crime no. 558 of 2013, under Sections 143, 307, 353, 504, 506 IPC and 7 Crl. Law Amendment Act, P.S. Dhanghata, District Sant Kabir Nagar and case crime no. 559 of 2013, under Sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 332, 353, 504, 506, 427 IPC, 7 Crl. Law Amendment Act and 3/4 Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act, P.S. Dhanghata, District Sant Kabir Nagar. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that petitioner had sent his representation through Superintendent, District Jail, Basti on 27.10.2013 to the District Magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar/respondent no.3, State Government as well as to the Central Government and U.P. Advisory Board, copy whereof has been filed as Annexure-7 to the writ petition. The representation which was submitted by the petitioner against the detention order was received by the District Magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar/ respondent no.3 on 28.10.2013 and rejected by him by his order dated 30.10.2013, copy whereof has been filed as Annexure-8 to the writ petition. The impugned detention order was approved by the State Government vide Radiogram No. 84/2/41/13-CX-5-Lucknow dated 28.10.2013. In response to the representation submitted by the petitioner on 27.10.2013 before the State of U.P., he was called upon to appear before the Advisory Board, Lucknow on 06.11.2013. The petitioner appeared before the Advisory Board on the said date. The detention order was approved by the U.P.State Advisory Board on 25.11.2013. The Central Government also approved the impugned detention order on 27.11.2013 after rejecting the petitioner's representation, information whereof was received by him on 18.10.2013. A perusal of the detention order as well as the grounds of detention (Annexure Nos. 5 & 6) supplied to the petitioner reflect that the impugned detention order was passed against the petitioner by the District Magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar/ respondent no.3 on account of his involvement in three incidents which had taken place at 3.00 p.m. and 9.00 p.m. on 31.07.2013 and at 13.30 hours on 01.08.2013 at Madraha Bahradadi dam near village Bhikharipur and Turkwalia with regard to which three different FIRs' were lodged, two by Umesh Prasad Yadav, Executive Engineer, Drainage Division-II, Sant Kabir Nagar which were registered as case crime no. 557 of 2013, under Sections 143, 307, 353, 504, 506 IPC and 7 Crl. Law Amendment Act and case crime no. 558 of 2013, under Sections 143, 307, 353, 504, 506 IPC and 7 Crl. Law Amendment Act against the petitioner and large number of unknown persons. The third FIR which was lodged by S.O. Sri Shamsher Bahadur Singh, P.S. Dhanghata, District Sant Kabir Nagar, was registered as case crime no. 559 of 2013, under Sections147, 148, 149, 307, 332, 353, 504, 506, 427 IPC, 7 Crl. Law Amendment Act and 3/4 Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act. According to the allegations made in the first FIR, which was registered as case crime no. 557 of 2013, while the informant along with the employees of the Drainage Department and labourers was desperately trying to plug the breach which had developed in the Madraha Bahradadi dam near villages Bhikharipur and Turkwalia, on account of unprecedented floods, the petitioner along with 20-25 persons who were armed with lathi and danda reached the place of incident on 31.07.2013 at about 3.00 p.m. and caught hold of the informant's hand and threatened to kill him and throw his dead body into the river on account of his having denied the petitioner contract for supplying bricks, brick bats and "Jhawan" to be used in plugging the dam on the ground of that the petitioner was not registered although he had granted contracts to all other contractors. As a result of the act of the petitioner an atmosphere of terror was created, the employees and the labourers had got immensely scared and had started running away. The petitioner and his associates pushed the informant and other employees and started chasing and threatening them, as a result, the work of plugging the breach in the dam was seriously hampered.