ASHOK KUMAR Vs. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE JALAUN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In both the aforesaid petitions, questions of facts and law involved are similar and both the petitions may be decided by a common order against which learned counsel for the parties have no objection. Petition No. 10594 of 1998 shall be the leading case.

(2.) Both the petitioners aggrieved by their preventive detention have questioned the legality of the orders dated 29.12.1997 passed by respondent No. 1, under Section 3 (2) of the National Security Act, 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). Copies of the orders have been filed as Annexure-A1 in both the petitions. Along with the order of detention, petitioners were also served the grounds on which basis respondent No. 1 formed his subjective satisfaction for passing the impugned orders. Except for a slight variation in respect of detenu Shankar Singh the grounds stated are also similar. In the grounds it has been stated that in view of the election of the students' union of Mahatma Gandhi Degree College, Orai district Jalaun, scheduled to be held on 25.11.1997, l1/2 Section of P.A.C. and civil police was deployed in the college premises to maintain law and order. On 25.11.1997, at about 11.30 a.m., both the petitioners along with their other companions indiscriminately fired at Satendra Tripathi. a student of M. A. Part 1 who was a candidate for the post of President of the Union and killed him at a crowded public place in presence of the P.A.C. and police force. Petitioners also threatened the persons present there from becoming witness of the crime otherwise they shall also be killed. The P.A.C. and police force present there chased the petitioners and their companions but they resorted to firing and escaped. The P.A.C. and police force could not fire at them for the sake of safety of the crowd and persons of the public present there.

(3.) That on account of the daring act of the petitioners, an atmosphere of commotion and fear prevailed there. People ran helter-skelter. On account of the fear, shops were closed, people went inside their houses and the public order was completely disturbed. In order to remove the fear from the minds of the residents of the locality and students of the college, additional police force consisting of three platoon of P.A.C. and other civil police force was summoned from the rural area and deployed in the college campus. A report of this occurrence was lodged on the same day at about 12.20 p.m. by Mahendra Tripathi, brother of the deceased. Case was registered at police station Kotwali, Orai, as case crime No. 1057 of 1997, under Section 147/148/149/302. I.P.C.