PYARELAL RAMROOP GUPTA Vs. A N ROY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition filed under Article 226 read with Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India challenges the order of detention passed on 21/10/2005 by the Commissioner of Police, Brihan Mumbai under Section 3(2) of the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug-offenders and Dangerous Persons Act, 1981 (for short "the MPDA Act"), against Sanjay Ramrup Gupta and the said order has been effected on 22/10/2005 along with the Hindi translation of all the documents. The order was approved by the Government on 28/10/2005 after the detenu was taken in arrest on 22/10/2005, reference to the Advisory Board under Section 10 of the MPDA Act was made on 29/10/2005 and the Advisory Board gave its opinion on 28/11/2005 which was received by the Government on 29/11/2005 and consequently the impugned detention order has been confirmed on 13/12/2005.

(2.) The grounds of detention are more than one but the learned counsel for the petitioner pressed the challenge in this petition on the following two grounds viz.

(3.) To consider the challenge to the impugned order on the abovesaid grounds we need to summarise the sequence of events leading to the passing of the detention order dated 21/10/2005. One Chetanlal Mithalal Jain, resident of Room No.8, Nasarvanjiwadi, Pitambar Lane, Mahim (West) lodged a complaint on 10/8/2005 with the Mahim Police Station and it came to be registered as C.R.No.213/05. As per the complainant he was regularly giving hafta money of Rs.500/- per month for the past one year to the petitioner so that the petitioner would not cause disturbance in his business of conducting a tea stall on the footpath near Narli Garden. As the demands of the detenu were increasing he filed complaint with the concerned police station on 5th August 2005. On 9/8/2005 in the evening at about 18.00 hours the complainant was conducting his tea stall and the detenu reached there. The complainant offered him Rs. 500/- but the detenu demanded Rs.2000/- per month and refused to accept Rs. 500/-. The complainant pleaded that he was an AIDS patient, was required to spend sufficiently big amount on medicines and treatment and, therefore, he was not able to pay Rs.2000/- per month. The detenu got annoyed and pushed the complainant and threatened him that his hands and feet will be cut into pieces if the complainant failed to pay Rs.2000/- on the next day by 2 p.m. when the detenu would again visit him. The complainant, therefore, approached the police station on 10/8/2005 and offence punishable under Sections 384 and 387 of IPC was registered. The police laid a trap for nabbing the detenu and were successful in doing so at about 14-15 hrs. on 10/8/2005. On accepting the marked notes of Rs.500/- each he was taken in custody after his personal search in which GC notes of Rs.500/- along with other cash of Rs.7030/- was collected from his person. During the course of investigation the statements of six persons were recorded. He was released on bail as per the order dated 22/8/2005 passed by the learned Addl. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate s 9th Court, Bandra. The first in-camera statement recorded on 14/9/2005 of Witness "A" disclosed that in the second week of July 2005 at about 18.30 hrs. while the witness was conducting his business in the area of Kapad Bazar, the detenu threatened him and demanded a sum of Rs.10,000/-. The witness asked whether he is an Income Tax officer. On this the detenu got annoyed and his associate caught hold of the witness and pulled him on the road and started assaulting him. When the witness shouted loudly for help, some people from the neighbouring area started coming forward but at that point of time the detenu took out a knife from his pocket and his associate took out a sura hidden under his clothes and threatened the mob to disperse from the place. The people ran helter skelter and the shopkeepers closed their shops. Hawkers left their belongings and ran away. The detenu s associate then rested the sura on the neck of the witness and carried out his personal search in which he found Rs.4,500/- and the detenu along with the associate left the place with the money and threatened the witness not to go to the police station lest he would not be left alive. Witness "B" in his statement recorded on 15/9/2005 described the similar incident of extortion of an amount of Rs.7000/- from the cash box in the fourth week of July 2005 at about 20.00 hrs. In the said incident also the detenu had used knife to threaten the witness and when he expressed his helplessness to give the money, the detenu kicked him on his stomach and the witness collapsed. Due to the fear the witness took out Rs.7000/- from the cash box and handed over to the detenu. The detenu left the place warning the witness not to go to the police lest he will not be left alive.