Back
GAUHATI HIGH COURT
T.Vaiphei,Mutum B.K.Singh, JJ.
Yumnam Ongbi Mary Jones -Appellant
Versus
State of Manipur & Ors. -Resopndent
Writ Petition (Cril) No.46 of 2010
Decided On : 20-09-2011
National Security Act, 1980 – Argument only on point of likelihood – Accused - Counsel appearing for petitioner canvassed his argument only on point of likelihood releasing detenu on bail in near future at time of hearing - According to counsel appearing for petitioner statement of Detaining Authority mentioned in paragraph of impugned detention order is mere ipse dixit of Detaining Authority and that said statement was made on no basis or without any cogent and reasonable materials on record - Relevant paragraph of impugned detention order is reproduced herein below for easy reference – Held, Neither date of alleged bail orders has been mentioned therein nor bail application number nor whether bail orders were passed in respect of co accused on same case nor whether the bail orders were passed in respect of other co accused cases on same footing as case of accused - All that has been stated in grounds of detention is that in similar cases bails were granted by the courts - In our opinion absence of details this statement is mere ipse dixit and cannot be relied upon - Case of co accused was on same footing as case of petitioner then of course it could be argued that there is likelihood of accused being released on bail because it is normal practice of most courts that if a co accused has been granted bail and his case is on same footing as that of petitioner then petitioner is ordinarily granted bail - Respondent authority should have given details about alleged bail order in similar cases which has not been done in present case - Mere ipse dixit statement in grounds of detention cannot sustain detention order and has to be ignored – Petition allowed
Challenge in this writ petition is to the order of detention dated 10.02.2011 passed by the respondent no.2 in Cril./NSA/No. 12 of 2011 detaining Shri Yumnam Tomba @ Liklangamba of Nilakuthi Awang Yumnam Leikai under the National Security Act, 1980 (for short 'NSA'), the approval order dated 19.02.2011 and confirmation order dated 30.03.2011 issued by the Government of Manipur.
2. Heard Mr. H. Premkrishna Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, Mr. Th. Ibohal Singh, learned Sr.GA for the respondent nos. 1 to 3 and Mr. Amerjit N., learned CGSC for the respondent no.4.
3. Several grounds have been raised in this writ petition filed by the wife of the detenu for assailing the impugned detention order dated 10.02.2011 and its subsequent approval and confirmation orders. However, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner canvassed his argument only on the point of likelihood of releasing the detenu on bail in the near future at the time of hearing. According to the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, the statement of the Detaining Authority mentioned in paragraph no.4 of the impugned detention order is a mere ipse dixit of the Detaining Authority and that the said statement was made on no basis or without any cogent and reasonable materials on record. The relevant paragraph No.4 of the impugned detention order is reproduced hereinbelow for easy reference:
"And whereas, I am satisfied from the police report that Shri Yumnam Tomba @ Liklangamba (23yrs) S/o Y. Mangi Meitei of Nilakuthi Awang Yumnam Leikai, P.S. Heingang, District - Imphal East, Manipur who is now in judicial custody, is likely to be released on bail in the near future by the normal criminal court as bails are granted in similar cases by the criminal courts."
4. Facts, in short, leading to filing of the present writ petition are that on 19.01.2011 at 3.00 PM, the detenu was arrested by a team of CDO, Imphal West at Langjing Bazar and also recovered one country made 9 mm pistol with one live round, two Chinese hand-grenades, 20 live round of AK 47 ammunition together with two personal note books from his possession. The detenu was handed over along with the seized articles to the Patsoi Police Station with a written report and on the basis of which a regular case of Patsoi Police Station under FIR No.4( 1)2011 u/s 17/20 UA(P) A. Act, 25(1-C) A.Act & 5 Expl. Subs. Act was registered against the detenu. During the course of investigation, the detenu was arrested in connection with the said FIR case and remanded to police custody till 25.01.2011. The detenu was, thereafter, formally arrested in connection with five other FIR cases of different police stations, the particulars of which are mentioned in paragraph no. 3 of the grounds of detention. The detenu was remanded to the judicial custody on 4.2.2011 and while the detenu was in judicial custody the impugned detention order dated 10.2.2011 was passed. After receiving the grounds of detention dated 14.02.2011, the detenu submitted two representations on 26.03.2011 to the respondent nos. 1 and 4 for revocation of the detention order. The representations of the detenu were rejected by the respondent no.1 and 4 on 30.03.2011 and 8.4.2011 respectively.
5. The charges leveled against the detenu as projected in the grounds of detention are that the detenu joined a banned organization namely United National Liberation Front (UNLF in short) in February, 1997 through Shri Ngathem Nonglen Singh, an important member of UNLF organization, and started working as a member of UNLF under his command. The detenu, after receiving basic military training, started working as S/S L/ Corpl. in the fighting mobile group of UNLF under the command of one Shri Konthouba Singh. The detenu took active role in carrying out various crimes, like explosion of bombs, encounters in between UNLF and security forces, etc., at different places in Manipur during the period from 2003
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
