LAWS(P&H)-1988-9-49

SURJIT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

Decided On September 27, 1988
SURJIT SINGH Appellant
V/S
STATE OF PUNJAB Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER Surjit Singh was arrested by the police in a case under Section 307/34 of the Indian Penal Code on July 19, 1987. While he was still in custody, respondent No. 2 issued against him the detention order Annexure P. I on November 6, 1987. Order Annexure P. I was revoked on May 9, 1988 and substituted by another order Annexure P. 3 on the same day. Detenu has filed Cr. W. P. No. 1237 of 1988 in this Court for quashing the orders of detention aforesaid on the ground that the State Government did not confirm the order of detention within the prescribed period, that the petitioner never applied for his release on bail and, therefore, the order of detention was made against him in a routine and perfunctory manner without the detaining authority applying its mind thereto or on its subjective satisfaction and that the breach of law attributed to him cannot be termed as disturbance of public order.

(2.) DETENTION order Annexure P.1 is dated November 6, 1987. Order confirming the detention could, in line with the observations made by the Supreme Court in Shibapada Mukerjee v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1972 Supreme Court 1356, Ujjal Mondal v. State of West Bengal AIR 1972 Supreme Court 1446, Deb Sadhan Roy v. State of West Bengal, AIR 1972 Supreme Court 1924 and Abdul Latif Abdul Wahab Seikh v. B.K. Jha and another, 1987(2) R.C.R.(Criminal) 17 : AIR 1987 Supreme Court 725, be made before February 6, 1988 and having admittedly not been so made, detention of the petitioner beyond this date is obviously without the authority of law and illegal.

(3.) THE grounds obtaining in Annexure P. 4 making the impugned order Annexure P. 3 are the same on which previous detention order dated November 6, 1987 Annexure P. I was passed against the petitioner. The activities spelt out therein constitute only a breach of law contradistinguished from a breach of public order justifying the issuance of a fresh order of detention. Relevant para 4 of the new detention order Annexure P. 3 reads :