Repeated Saying Of Word ‘Goonda’ Or ‘Prejudicial To Maintenance Of Public Order’ Insufficient To Invoke Preventive Detention: SC [Read Judgment]

Rhetorical incantation of word “goonda” or “prejudicial to maintenance of public order” cannot be sufficient justification to invoke the draconian powers of preventive detention, the Supreme Court has held in , .

A bench comprising Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice Navin Sinha quashed preventive detention of a man who was accused of selling spurious chilli seeds to farmers.

The court observed that sufficient remedies for the offence alleged were available and had been invoked also under the ordinary laws of the land for the offence alleged.

“Whether the seeds were genuine or not, the extent of the yield, are matters to be investigated in the FIRs. Section 19 of the Seeds Act provides for penalty by conviction and sentence also,” the bench said.

Observing that the grounds of detention stated were ex facie extraneous, the court said: “To classify the detenu as a “goonda” affecting public order, because of inadequate yield from the chilli seed sold by him and prevent him from moving for bail even, is a gross abuse of the statutory power of preventive detention.”

The court also referred to the decision in Munagala Yadamma vs State of AP, wherein it was observed that detention cannot be made a substitute for the ordinary law and absolve the investigating authorities of their normal functions of investigating crimes which the detenu may have committed.

Read the Judgment here.