RAZIA PATEL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition the petitioner has challenged the order passed by the Additional District Magistrate. Aurangabad dated 16th November ,1985 issued under section 144(2)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure prohibiting Shri Hussein Jamadar, Organizer of "Talaq Mukti Morcha " and his followers from entering the limits of Aurangabad City for a period form 00.00 hours of 17th November, 1985 to 24.00 hours of 16th January, 1986 except on Court summons. Admittedly this order was passed ex parte without giving any show cause notice to the organizer of the morcha. The petitioner is a member of the Reception Committee formed at Aurangabad to receive the said morcha. Muslim Satya Sodhak Mandal, is a social organization founded for promoting social reforms in Muslims in India. The organization decided to take out a Talaq Mukti Morcha from Kolhapur to Nagpur to create public opinion against the plight of Muslim women, who are subjected to oral talaq and are rendered destitute at the whims of their husbands. The morcha was taken out to support the judicial pronouncement of the Supreme Court in A.I.R. 1985 S.C. 945 (Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum and others) case and it is peaceful in every respect. The persons participating in morcha, along with social workers used to go to the local collectorate and present a memorandum calling the attention of the Government to the problems sought to be focused by the morcha. At all district places en-route the morcha had submitted such a memorandum. The orthodox and conservative elements did try to obstruct this peaceful agitation by giving threats to the persons participating in the morcha as well as to the concerned authorities at Nanded, Pardhani and Ahmednagar. The opposition to the morcha also resorted to violence, but the police very rightly protected the participants in morcha and allowed them to present their memorandum. On 17th November, 1985 the morcha was scheduled to visit Aurangabad. A Reception Committee, headed by the petitioner, was formed. It consisted of members from both the communities, that is Muslims and Hindus. The morcha was to present a memorandum to the Collector, Aurangabad. With an intention to avoid confrontation and to ease the police bandobast, the Reception Committee also decided to shorten the route of the morcha. The Reception Committee had also given prior intimation about the morcha to the Collector and the police authorities. It also wanted to discuss the matter with the District Magistrate and the District Superintendent of Police. But all the time the authorities avoided to meet the petitioner and other members of the Reception Committee and all of a sudden issued the impugned order under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure. This order was served on Shri. Hussein Jamadar, who was the organizer of the morcha on way to Aurangabad. Surprisingly, no intimation was given to the Local Reception Committee by the police in writing and they came to know about it from the newspapers. Thus in substance it is contended by the petitioner that the morcha, which was wholly peaceful and was taken out to create public opinion, for achieving humane conditions of living for Muslim women, was banned suddenly by the impugned order, without following the procedure prescribed by law. The said order is also violative of petitioners fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution.

(2.) While denying the allegations made in the petition, the respondents have not denied the averments made in paragraph 3 of the petition, that is, the Reception Committee had intimate to the collector and the police authorities about morcha a and also waited to have discussion with these authorities. It is also not denied that throughout, the morcha was peaceful. However, it is contended by the deponent, Additional District Magistrate, that some instances of violence had taken place at Nanded, Parbhani and Ahmednagar and to avoid such instances, the impugned order was passed in exercise of powers conferred upon section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It was also stated that this order is based on confidential commercial received by the authorities concerned as well as the pervious history of the Aurangabad City which is thickly populated by people belonging to Hindu and Muslim communities. It is also stated that the authorities had received applications dated 11th November, 1985, 12th November, 1985, 14th November, 1985 and 15th November, 1985 signed by the different responsible persons and the representatives of the people and local leaders as well as political workers. They were singed by the persons who belong to different communities. Since it was apprehended that because of the visit of the morcha to the City, the law and order problem will be created, the impugned order was passed by the Additional District Magistrate bona fide. It was then contended that after coming to know from a new published in the newspaper that the idea of morcha has been abandoned, the authorities have revoked the impugned order by subsequent order dated 22nd of November, 1985 and, therefore, nothing survives in this petition.

(3.) We have gone through the relevant material placed on record and also heard the Counsel for the parties in detail. The fact that the idea of taking out morcha for presenting a memorandum to the Collectors of various districts or to the authorities in power in Nagpur Legislative Assembly, is given up, is seriously disputed by the Counsel for the petitioner. The alleged order dated 22nd of November, 1985 is passed after the rule was issued by this Court on 21st November, 1985 and that too in the presence of the Assistant Government Pleader. This revocation order is based on the news item published in the newspapers and it is an admitted position that the authorities have no authentic information with them in this behalf. Therefore, it will not be correct to say that the writ petition has become infructuous and nothing survives in it.