Police acted legally in preventive detention for attempting to obstruct a VIP motorcade; the petitioner failed to demonstrate legal grounds for mandamus relief.

1. Petitioner in this writ petition claims to be a public spirited person and an active social worker. He has filed this writ petition, challenging the illegal detention of transgenders at Palarivattom Police Station, on account of wearing black dress to express protest during the visit of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Kerala.

2. Reliefs sought for in this writ petition are as under:
(i) to issue a Writ of Mandamus to the 2 nd respondent who is the competent authority u/s 110(3) of the K.P. Act, 2011, for conducting an inquiry into the professional misconduct of the officers concerned and taking action in accordance with law,
(ii) to make a declaration to the effect that the arrest and detention for waving black flags in protest is per se illegal and unconstitutional and direct the State Government to grant adequate compensation for the persons booked for waving black flag in front of the Chief Minister and Ministers in protest;
(iii) to issue an order to 3rd respondent to place the details of the cases in which persons who have been arrested and detained for having waved the black flag in protest to Ministers for the last 3 years;

3. Mr. Rajesh Vijayan, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that transgenders here have not committed any offence under any law for the time being in force. Waving black flag or wearing black mask or dress by any citizen is an innocuous non - offence in a democratic country like India to show dissent to any political executive. It is submitted by the petitioner that the illegal detention on account of such an act by police officers is violative of Art.14, Art.19 and Art.21 of the Constitution and even makes out a serious offence under S.220 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 . Therefore, the detenue is liable to be compensated by the State.

4. On the other hand, the police officers being the protectors of law, have committed offences under sub-sections
(b) & (d) of S.18 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 . S.18(b) & S.18(d) of the read as under:
"S.18(b): whoever, denies a transgender person the right of passage to a public place or obstructs such person from using or having access to a public place to which other members have access to or a right to use;
S.18(d): whoever harms or injures or endangers the life, safety, health or well - being, whether mental or physical, of a transgender person or tends to do acts including causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years and with fine.”

5. It is further submitted by the petitioner that the fourth respondent - Station House Officer, Palarivattom Police Station, is liable to explain under S.32(1) of the Kerala Police Act, 2011 about his arbitrary and illegal act, which adversely affected the body and reputation of the transgenders and others who were booked illegally. S.32(1) reads as under:
"S.32(1) - Police officers liable to explain, -
(1) Any person or his representative in interest shall have the right to seek and be informed of the reason for any police action which adversely affected his body or property or reputation.
(2) A Police Officer while performing any act which is likely to endanger or adversely affect the body, property or reputation of any person, shall, as is reasonably practicable under each particular circumstance, maintain records of his actions which are done under any law or order of the State Police Chief which governs such acts as may be prescribed by any law governing such act or as ordered by the State Police Chief:
Provid