UDAI VEER SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The principal contention urged for the petitioner Udaiveer Singh son of Shyam Singh, Resident of village Badhal Khurd, P. S. Kotwali, district Muzaffarnagar relates to the of repeated question that the ground of detention has no nexus to the 'public order', but is purely a matter of 'law of order'. In order to appreciate this contention, it is necessary to disclose the facts as have been unfolded from the grounds accompanying the order of detention dated 16-6-1999 passed by the District Magistrate-respondent No. 2 under the provisions of Section 3(2) of National Security Act (Act No. 65 of 1980) (hereinafter referred to as 'the NSA') served on the petitioner while he was in jail, in connection with case crime No. 204 of 1999, under Section 302, I.P.C., P. S. Civil Lines, Muzaffarnagar.

(2.) On 9-5-1999, at 10.30 a.m., the present petitioner and his two nephews Amar Veer Singh and Param Veer Singh, murdered one Ravindra Kumar Malik at his residence in Civil Lines Muzaffarnagar. It is alleged that Amar Veer Singh opened fire on the deceased with his country made pistol while Param Veer Singh dealt the deceased with knife blows. After committing the gruesome murder, the present petitioner as well as other two persons were successful in escaping on Vespa LML Scooter U. P. 92-C/8346. F.I.R. was lodged by Vinod Kumar brother of the deceased at P. S. Civil Lines Muzaffarnagar at 11.40 a.m. naming the three accused persons. Later on, the petitioner was apprehended by the local Police and from his possession a 22-Bore licensed revolver was seized besides the scooter, which was used in fleeing from the situs of the crime. While the petitioner was in jail, the detaining authority, i.e., District Magistrate, Mazaffarnagar received reports from the sponsoring authorities that the various activities of the petitioner were prejudicial to the maintenance of 'public order', inasmuch as, he was previously involved in crime case No. 337 of 1991, under Section 302/307, IPC, P. S. Kotwali, Muzaffarnagar and another crime case No. 50-A/95, under Sections 147/123/504/506, IPC, registered in the same Police Station. It was reported that on account of murder of Ravindra Kumar Malik, who happened to be a teacher, tension and commotion prevailed at district headquarters and the teachers stopped evaluation of the answer books at the various educational centres and staged demonstrations at number of places; a sense of insecurity gripped the general public. All these facts led to break down of the 'public order'. It was also mentioned in the grounds supplied to the petitioner in support of the detention order that he was making attempts to get himself released on bail and if he is successful in his mission, he would terrorize the witnesses and may commit another horrendous crime.

(3.) The petitioner made a detailed representation against the order of detention addressed to the Advisory Board through the Home Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh and Secretary, Home Ministry, Union of India, New Delhi, a copy of which is Annexure 5 to the writ petition. The State Government approved the order of detention dated 16-6-1999 passed by the District Magistrate-respondent No. 2.