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1987 Supreme(Guj) 18

Gujarat High Court
Judgename :N.B.PATEL, S.B.MAJMUDAR
BABUBHAI GULAMBHAI GOAS - Appellant
Versus
STATE - Respondent
S.CRI.A. 116 of 1986
Decided On : 03/30/1987

Advocates Appeared: K.J.VAIDYA, MAHENDRA C.KAPADIA

Headnote:Constitution of India, 1950-Art. 22(5) and Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985-Sec.3-Detenu s right to make representation.

       The petitioner is an illiterate detenu. He is not conversant with the constitutional requirements of preventive detention. In fact, he has not been told to make any representation to the Advisory Board and merely because he was personally heard before the Advisory Board would not absolve the respondents of their constitutional obligation of informing the detenu of his right of representation to the Advisory Board.

S. B. MAJMUDAR, J.

( 1 ) IN this petition under Art, 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner who is a detenu under the provisions of sec. 3 (l) of the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities 1985 (The PASA Act for short), has brought; In challenge his order of preventive detention on diverse grounds. The order of detention is dated 31-7-1986. It is at Annexure a to the petition. It recites that the detaining authority viz. District Magistrate, Bharuch is satisfied with respect to person known as Babubhai Gulambhai Goas (the petitioner herein) that with a view to preventing later from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order, it is necessary to make an order directing that the said detenu be detained and, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sec. (1) of sec. 3 of the PASA Act, the District Magistrate has directed detention of the petitioner. The grounds of detention supporting the detention order are of even date and they are found at pages 13 to 16 of the petition. The order of detention has been approved by the State Government and also confirmed by the State Government after receipt of Advisory Boards opinion.

( 2 ) IN response to the Rule issued in this petition, the detaining authority Mr. S. R. Rao, District Magistrate, Bharuch has filed his affidavit-in-reply. Mr. Kapadia, for the petitioner raised five contentions in support of the petition. It is not necessary to reproduce all of them at this stage for the simple reason that the last contention, which Mr. Kapadia canvassed, in our view, goes to the root of the matter and entities the petitioner to succeed. We have, therefore, not mentioned and dealt with other contentions canvassed by Mr. Kapadia in support of the petition.

( 3 ) THE last contention canvassed by Mr. Kapadia is to the effect that the petitioner is an illiterate person and he has not been afforded any opportunity of making effective representation as early as possible to the State Government and also to the Advisory Board. In the grounds of detention, he has not been informed the fact that he can make representation either to the State Government or to the Advisory Board and hence, he has not been told to make any representation and consequently, continued detention of the detenu is illegal.

( 4 ) THIS ground is found as ground No. 14 at page 8 of the petition. The detaining, authority has tried to meet this point in para 18 of his attidavit -in -reply at page 51. It has been stated that it is not correct to say that the petitioner has not been afforded any opportunity to make representation to the State Government and also to the Advisory Board against the order of detention. In fact, in the grounds of detention themselves it has been mentioned that if the detenu wants to make a representation against the order of detention to the State Government, then the same should be addressed to the Deputy Secretary, Home Department, State of Gujarat, Gandhinagar and the same should be sent through the Superintendent of the Sabarmati Central Prison. Similarly, it has been mentioned in the grounds of detention that the petitioner has a right to make representation before the Advisory Board. That the meeting of the Advisory Board had taken place on 12-9-1986. The detaining authority had remained present because he was summoned to remain present before the Board as he had passed the order of detention. The detenu was also presented he had made representation before the Board also and therefore, in these circumstances, the allegation that the petitioner was not afforded an opportunity of making representation as early as possible to the State Government and also to the Advisory Board is denied.

( 5 ) NOW, if we turn to the grounds of detention, we find in the penultimate para and also in the last para the following recitals which, when translated into English, read as under:if you want to make any representation against the order of detention passed against you please no









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