The Bombay High Court dismissed a plea challenging the detention order issued under Section 3(2) of the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981.
A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale upheld the order dated October 21, 2024, passed by the Commissioner of Police, Pune, observing that the detaining authority’s subjective satisfaction was based on relevant and proximate material specifically two FIRs and two in-camera witness statements showing the petitioner’s violent and extortionist conduct that disturbed public peace in the Sahakar Nagar area.
Rejecting the petitioner’s argument that the detention relied on stale or unrelated offences, the Court noted that past cases were “only referred to” for background and not used to form the basis of detention. Citing Khaja Bilal Ahmed v. State of Telangana (2020) 13 SCC 632, the Bench reiterated that prior antecedents may be referred to only when they bear a direct nexus with the immediate need to detain an individual.
The Bench found that the petitioner’s actions threatening shopkeepers, assaulting members of the public with weapons, and demanding protection money created an atmosphere of terror and clearly prejudiced the maintenance of public order. It held that such conduct went beyond a mere “law and order” issue.
Holding the detention order valid under Section 5A of the MPDA Act, the Court concluded that there was no infirmity in the authority’s satisfaction and dismissed the writ petition, discharging the rule.
Appearances:
Mr. Vikas Shivarkar, Advocate for the Petitioner.
Smt. M. M. Deshmukh, Public Prosecutor for the State.
