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A. M. AHMADI, SUHAS C. SEN, B. L. HANSARIA
Anirudhsinhji Karansinhji Jadeja – Appellant
Versus
State Of Gujarat – Respondent
The Court emphasized that when a statutory authority is required to exercise a specific power independently, it must do so based on its own judgment and discretion. If the authority acts merely at the behest or under the "dictation" of a higher authority, without exercising its own discretion, it effectively abdicates its statutory function. Such an act is considered an abdication or surrender of the authority's jurisdiction, which results in the order being ultra vires, or beyond the legal power conferred by law (!) (!) . This principle underscores the importance of genuine exercise of discretion by the designated authority, rather than acting under external influence or instructions, to ensure the legality and validity of the action taken.
JUDGMENT
HANSARIA, J. :- The two appellants are in jail being accused of having committed offences, inter alia under Section 3 and 5 of the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (for short the TADA). Their prayer is to release them on bail, which has been denied by the Designated Court. In support of this plea, a large number of points were raised before us in course of arguments. It is not necessary to go into all these questions as, according to us, the appeal deserves to be allowed on the sole ground of wrong invocation of TADA in the case of the appellants.
2. To bring home the above, we may note the prosecution case in short, which is that :
"........on March 15, 1995 one Jayantilal Mohanlal Vadodaria who is a son of elder brother Mohanlal Kalabhai of the complainant, was murdered by some assailants near Ashapura Dam at the distance of 3 K. M. from Gondal town. So on receiving this information, the complainant went to the scene of offence where a dead body of his nephew Jayantilal was lying. One Vespa-scooter of the deceased was also lying there. It was found that there were injury makes by fire on the body of the deceased. There was a cartridge of red colo
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