IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment established that preventive detention should be based on a genuine threat to public order, and alternative measures should be considered before resorting to preventive detention.

JUDGMENT :

A.Y. KOGJE, J.

1. This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is filed for following relief:-

“(A) Your Lordships be pleased to issue appropriate writ, direction or order of this Hon’ble Court, quashing and setting aside the detention order bearing No.PCB/DTB/PASA/178/2023 dated 22.09.2023 annexed at annexure ‘A’ to the petition placing the Detenue under preventive detention, in purported exercise of their powers under the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985, as being illegal, null void and further be pleased to release the detenue forthwith;”

2. Thus, essentially, the challenge is to the order of detention dated 22.09.2023 passed by the Police Commissioner, Vadodara, respondent No.1 herein, by which the petitioner has been detained as a “dangerous person” based on two offences registered against him, details of which are as under:-

3. Learned advocate for the detenue submits that the order of detention impugned in this petition deserves to be quashed and set aside as registration of the offences under IPC Sections by itself cannot bring the case of the detenue within the purview of definition under section 2(c) of the Act. Further, learned advocate for the detenue submits that illegal activity likely to be carried out or alleged to have been carried out, as alleged, cannot have any nexus or bearing with the maintenance of public order and at the most, it can be said to be breach of law and order. Further, registration of above FIR/s and Panchnama drawn in pursuance of the investigation, no other relevant and cogent material is on record connecting alleged anti-social activity of the detenue with breach of public order. Learned advocate for the petitioner further submits that it is not possible to hold on the basis of the facts of the present case that activity of the detenue with respect to the criminal cases had affected even tempo of the society causing threat to the very existence of normal and routine life of people at large or that on the basis of criminal cases, the detenue had put the entire social apparatus in disorder, making it difficult for whole system to exist as a system governed by rule of law by disturbing public order.

3.1 It is submitted that the offences are pertaining theft of vehicles of private individuals and will therefore not amounting to breach of public order as no where in the grounds of detention, it is coming out that the sporadic act of the petitioner has caused disturbance to public order. In any case, option was always available to the detaining authority to resort to cancellation of bail of the petitioner. It is submitted that there are no secret witnesses and the petitioner came to be detained on the very next day after he was enlarged on regular bail in the second offence.

4. As against this, learned AGP submitted that the detaining authority had sufficient material on the record to pass the order of detention, particularly reference to the same is made by the detaining authority in the very order of detention where the detaining authority has referred to the fact that it was the petitioner who had himself confessed to commission of theft of vehicles. Not only that, there are other supporting evidences also which the detaining authority has taken into consideration like drawing of panchnama, which led to discovery of vehicle of which theft was committed. The two FIRs registered against the petitioner are under Chapter-16 and 17 of IPC, thereby attracting the ingredients of “dangerous person”.

5. Having heard learned advocates for the parties and considering the facts and c