JASWINDER SINGH ALIAS, JAGA Vs. STATE OF PUNJABT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER Jaswinder Singh was detained pursuant to an order of detention dated 1-4-1987 issued by the District Magistrate, Faridkot who it respondent No. 2 here under.

(2.) ASPER admissions made in the written statements, the order of the detention has been correctly reproduced in para No. 2 of the petition that grounds for detention have been reproduced in para No. 3 and that the petitioner was already in custody and lodged in jail the time of the making of the order although this fact is not made out from the detention order. Undisputably it is a preventive measure and it is mentioned in the order itself that the same was made with a view to prevent Jaswinder Singh from acting in objectionable and prejudicial manner in future. Petitioner being already in jail could not have possibly indulged in any such activities. Conspicuously enough it is neither mentioned in the detention order in any manner whatsoever that there was any possibility of the petitioner being released. In this situation of the matter it was not proper to exercise power of preventive detention.

(3.) THE power of directing preventive detention given to the appropriate. authorities must be exercised in exceptional cases as contemplated by the various provisions of the different statutes dealing with preventive detention and should be used with great deal of circumspection. There must be awareness of the facts necessitating preventive custody of a person for social defence which as shown above is badly lacking in this case. If a man is in custody and there is no, imminent possibility of his being released, power of preventive detention cannot be exercised. This, conclusion of mine is reinforced by Ramesh Yadav v. District Magistrate, Etah and others, AIR 1986 S.C. 315 and Binod Singh v. District Magistrate, Dhanbad, Bihar and others, AIR 1986 S.C. 2090.