MONICA TRIPATHI Vs. STATE OF M. P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Regard being had to the similitude of the questions involved, on the joint request of the parties, these writ petitions were analogously heard and are decided by this common order.

(2.) This petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution. The petitioner has assailed the order dated 12/05/2021 (Annexure P/1) whereby the District Magistrate, Indore by invoking the provisions of National Security Act, 1980 (NSA Act) detained the husband of petitioner namely, Dr. Vinay Shankar Tripathi. The stand of petitioner is that petitioner's husband was arrested on 15/04/2021 for allegedly committing offences under Section 420, 274, 275, 276, 188 of IPC and Section 18A, 18a(i), 18(a)(iv) and Section 27 of Drug and Cosmetic Act, 1940 r/w Section 3 of Epidemic Diseases Act 1987. The allegation against the corpus is that he was illegally possessing and black marketing 400 remdesivir injections.

(3.) Shri Abhinav Dhanodkar, learned counsel for petitioner submits that if the act of Corpus is punishable under various provisions of the enactments on which offences are registered and he was arrested, he cannot be detained under the NSA Act. Reliance is placed on para-48 of Full Bench judgment passed in WP No.22290/2019 (Kamal Khare vs. State of MP and Ors.) Since alleged offence committed by Corpus is punishable under the provisions of aforesaid enactments, his detention under the NSA Act is wholly impermissible.