ORDER :

The present Writ Petition is filed by the petitioner under Article - 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a writ of mandamus declaring the action of respondent No.4 in maintaining rowdy sheet against him as illegal, arbitrary and violation of Articles - 14, 19 (1) (e) and 21 of the Constitution of India and for a consequential direction to respondent No.4 to close the rowdy sheet maintained against the petitioner.

2. Heard Mr. Mohd. Muzafferullah Khan, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. S. Rama Mohan Rao, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Home & Law appearing on behalf of the respondents.

3. The contentions of the petitioner are as under:

(i) the Police, Shah Ali Banda have registered a case in Crime No.35 of 2021 against the petitioner and another for the offence under Section - 436 read with 34 of IPC;

(ii) the police have falsely implicated him in the said case;

(iii) the Police of Shah Ali Banda Police Station, Hyderabad, has opened a rowdy sheet against him basing on the aforesaid single crime, and later on the point of jurisdiction, the said rowdy sheet was transferred to Kalapather Police Station;

(iv) under the guise of opening and maintaining the said rowdy sheet, the police are harassing the petitioner by calling him to the police station which is causing serious hardship to his livelihood as he is doing a petty business;

(v) he is sole bread earner in his family;

(vi) basing on pendnecy of single crime, police officials cannot open and maintain rowdy sheet against the petitioner;

(vii) a person should be a habitual offender for the purpose of opening and maintaining of rowdy sheet; and

(viii) placed reliance on the principle laid down by the Apex Court and this Court in Dhanji Ram Sharma v. Superintendent of Police, North District, Delhi Police, AIR 1966 SC 1766 and reiterated in Vijay Narain Singh v. State of Bihar, AIR 1984 SC 1334 and the judgment of High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Umesh Singhaniya v. The Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, 2013 (3) ALT 146.

With the said submissions, learned counsel for the petitioner sought to declare the action of the respondents in not closing the rowdy sheet as illegal and for a consequential direction to close the above said rowdy sheet opened against the petitioner.

4. The contentions of the respondents are as under :

(i) the petitioner is having unlawful character locally, indulging continuously in the commission of lawless acts involving breach of public peace and tranquility;

(ii) the petitioner was involved in the following two cases:

(a) Crime No.35 of 2021 of Shah Ali Banda Police Station, for the offence under Section 436 read with 34 of IPC; and

(b) Crime No.56 of 2021 of Shah Ali Banda for the offence under Section - 107/41A of Cr.P.C.

(iii) as per the A.P. Police Manual, Order No.601, certain persons may be classified as rowdies and rowdy sheets may be opened against them, and the case of petitioner would squarely fit for opening the rowdy sheet; and

(iv) in view of involvement of the petitioner in the aforesaid criminal cases, to curb and curtail is unlawful activities, the respondents have opened rowdy sheet on 31.03.2021 on the file of Shah Ali Banda Police and later on the point of jurisdiction it was transferred to Kalapather Police Station.

With the said submissions, the learned Assistant Government Pleader sought to dismiss the writ petition.

5. In view of the said rival submissions, it is opt to refer to the relevant clauses of the A.P. Police Manual. Maintenance of rowdy sheets is governed by Standing Order 601 of the A.P. Police Manual, Part-I, Volume II, which reads as under:-

“601. The following persons may be classified as rowdies and Rowdy Sheets (Form 80) may be opened for them under the orders of the SP/DCP and ACP/SDPO.

A. Persons who habitually commit, attempt to commit or abet the commission of offences involving a breach of the peace, disturbance to public order and security.

B. Persons bound over under Sections 106, 107, 108(1) (i) and 1