Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
SMT. ARUNA KUMARI
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND OTHERS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT11/11/1987
BENCH:
SHARMA, L.M. (J)
BENCH:
SHARMA, L.M. (J)
SEN, A.P. (J)
CITATION:
1988 AIR 227 1988 SCR (1) 973
1988 SCC (1) 296 JT 1987 (4) 378
1987 SCALE (2)1121
CITATOR INFO :
R 1988 SC1835 (6)
RF 1990 SC 225 (9)
ACT:
Prevention of Blackmarketing and Maintenance of
Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980: sections 3 and
14-Detenu-A contractor-Levy cement meantfor use in railway
construction work-Diverted for private construction work-
Contractor detained for acting in a manner prejudicial to
maintenance of essential supplies-Validity of detention
order.
Detention order-Delay in passing of-Not by itself a
vitiating factor-Court cannot examine probative value of
evidence available to detaining authority-Court cannot
examine propriety or sufficiency of grounds of detention-
Detenu has no right to get his successive representations
based on the same grounds rejected earlier to be formally
disposed of again.
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973: Section 161-Statement of
detenu accepting allegations against himself-Whether can be
relied upon for purposes of preventive detention.
HEADNOTE:
%
The husband of the petitioner had been detained by an
order dated 15th May, 1987 under Section 3 of the Prevention
of Blackmarketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential
Commodities Act, 1980. The grounds served on the detenu for
making the detention order alleged that the detenu had
undertaken contract works of various types under the South
Central Railway, and indulged in clandestine business of
diversion of levy cement meant for use in the Masonary
Ballast Wall alongwith the railway track, and had thus acted
in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of
cement, an essential commodity.
The facts mentioned, that on the receipt of information
that levy cement was being transferred into non-levy bags
for its diversion to works not intended, the Inspector of
Police, Vigilance Cell made a surprise visit, and found that
the information passed on to him was correct. He conducted a
raid and recovered 400 bags of levy cement. A criminal case
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under Clauses 12 and 13 of the Andhra Pradesh Levy Cement
Distribution (Licensing and Regulation) Order, 1982 read
with
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Section 7 and 8 of the Essential Commodities, Act, 1955 was
commenced and further investigation proceeded. Both the
detenu and his servant absconded and were ultimately
arrested on 18th March, 1987 when the detenu confessed
before the Inspector of Police. The detenu was released on
bail the following day, i.e. 19th March, 1987. On the
consideration of the aforesaid circumstances, the District
Magistrate was of the opinion that the mere launching of a
criminal case against the detenu would not effectively
prevent him from acting in a manner prejudicial to the
maintenance of supplies of cement, and therefore, ordered
detention, which order was later confirmed by the Advisory
Board
The detenu filed his first representation on 20th May,
1987 which was rejected by the State Government as also the
Advisory Board later.
writ petition was filed before the High Court on 18th
June, 1987 challenging the detention order, while the writ
petition in this Court was filed on 13th June, 1987.
second representation on behalf of the detenu was filed
by his cousin on 5th June, 1987 for revocation of the
detention order. This representation remained unattended,
until the State Government reminded the Central Government
in this regard after filing of the writ petition in this
Court, and it was only then that the Central Government
rejected the same on 2nd September, 1987.
The High Court dismissed the writ petition on 18th
July, 1987.
In the Special Leave Petition as also the writ petition
under Art. 32 the order of detention was challenged on the
grounds of (1) delay of about 5 months in passing the order,
(2) the allegation against the detenu of diverting levy
cement for private use was incorrect, (3) the second
representation filed by the detenu’s cousin remained
undisposed by the Central Government for about 3 months, (4)
the sponsoring officer’s default in not placing relevant
facts before the detaining authority before the impugned
order was passed, and (5) the detention order was passed on
the basis of a solitary incident.
Dismissing the Writ Petition and Special Leave
Petition,
^
HELD: 1. Delay cannot by itself vitiate the decision to
detain a person. [980G]
975
Rajendra Prasad v. State of Uttar Pradesh and another,
[1981] 4 SCC 588; Smt. Hemlata Kantilal Shah v. State of
Maharashtra, [1981] 4 SCC 647 and Malwa Shaw v. The State of
West Bengal, A.I.R. 1974 SC 957 referred to.
In the instant case, there is no doubt that in the
police records the detenu was considered to be an absconder
throughout till his arrest on 18th March, 1987. The
affidavit of the District Magistrate filed before the High
Court indicates that further investigation in the case
continued even after the arrest of the detenu and that other
relevant information could be collected only after and thus
the investigation was complete on 13th May, 1987. The matter
was placed before the District Magistrate on 14th May, 1987
who passed the impugned order in these circumstances, here
is no doubt that the respondents have satisfactorily
explained the delay in passing the detention order. [980E-F]
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2. The sufficiency of the materials available to the
detaining authority is not to be examined by the Court. This
Court while considering the petitioner’s writ application is
not sitting in appeal over the detention order, and it is
not to go into and assess the probative value of the
evidence available to the detaining authority. A detention
order not supported by any evidence may have to be quashed,
but that is not so in the present case. [982C, 981E]
3. Section 14 of the Act clothes the authority with the
power of revoking the detention order but the duty to
exercise it arises only where new and relevant facts and
circumstances come to light. There is no right in favour of
the detenu to get his successive representations based on
the same grounds rejected earlier to be formally disposed of
again. No period of limitation is fixed for disposal of an
application under Section 14. [982D-F]
Haradhan Saha and another v. The State of West Bengal
and others, [1975] 1 SCR 778; Sat Pal v. The State of
Punjab, [1982] 1 SSC 12 and State of Uttar Pradesh v. Zavad
Zama Khan, [1984] 3 SSC 505, referred to.
4. It has long been established that the subjective
satisfaction of the detaining authority as regards the
factual existence of the condition on which the order of the
detention can be made, namely, the grounds of detention
constitute the foundation for the exercise of the power of
detention and the court cannot be invited to consider the
propriety or sufficiency of the grounds on which the
satisfaction of the detaining
976
authority is based. Nor can the court on a review of the
grounds, substitute its own opinion for that of the
authority. [983D]
In the instant case, the ground of detention is only
one, namely, that the detenu was acting prejudicial to the
maintenance of supplies of commodity, i.e., levy cement,
essential to the community, by diverting it to the open
market. The grounds of detention served alongwith the order
are nothing but a narration of facts. The question wheher
the detentu was acting in a manner prejudicial to the
maintenance of supplies essential to the life of the
community is a matter of inference to be drawn from facts.
It could not be said that there was no material upon which
the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority could
be based. It appears from the grounds i.e. the facts set out
that the detenu had made a statement admitting that he had
diverted 600 bags of levy cement issued to him for use in
the masonary ballast wall along the railway track, and
therefore, the District Magistrate was justified in coming
to the conclusion that he (the detenu) was acting in a
manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of the
commodity essential to the community. [983E-H]
5. If ‘materials and vital facts’ which would influence
the mind of the detaining authority one way or the other on
the question whether or not to make the detention order, are
not placed, it would vitiate the subjective satisfaction
rendering the detention order illegal. That is not so, in
the instant case. There was ample material before the
District Magistrate for him to base his subjective
satisfaction as to the necessity for passing the detention
order. [984C]
Asha Devi v. K. Shiveraj, Addl. Chief Secretary to the
Government of Gujarat and another, [1979] 2 SCR 215; Mohd.
Shakeel Wahid Ahmed v. State of Maharashtra and others,
[1983] 2 SCR 614; Kurjibhai Dhanjibhai Patel v. State of
Gujarat, [1985] 1 Scale 964 and Pushpadevi M. Jatia v. M.L.
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Wadhawan, Additional Secretary, Government of India and
others, [1987] 3 SCC 367, referred to.
JUDGMENT:
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 529
of 1987.
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.
V.M. Tarkunde, G. Narsimahullu and Nalin Kumar for the
Petitioner.
977
E. Manohar, Advocate-General, B. Datta, Additional
Solicitor General, T.V.S.N. Chari, Ms. V. Grover, G. Ramesh
and Ms. A. Subhashini for the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
SHARMA J. K. Madhava Rao, husband of the petitioner,
has been detained under Section 3 of the Prevention of
Blackmarketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential
Commodities Act, 1980. The petitioner filed an application
under Article 226 of the Constitution before the Andhra
Pradesh High Court for a writ of habeas corpus which was
dismissed on 18.7.1987. The Special Leave Petition is
directed against the said order. The petitioner has also
challenged the detention order by the application under
Article 32 of the Constitution before this Court in Writ
Petition (Criminal) No. 529 of 1987.
2. The grounds served on the detenu for making the
detention order dated 15.3.1987 allege that he (the detenu
Madhava Rao) undertakes contract works of various types
under South Central Railway (SCR) and indulged in
clandestine business of diversion of levy cement meant for
use in the Masonry Ballast Wall along with the railway track
on the suburban section between Kachiguda and Falaknuma
Railway Stations, and thus acted in a manner prejudicial to
the maintenance of supplies of cement, an essential
commodity. The facts mentioned are, that on receipt of an
information on 18.12.1987 that levy cement was being
transferred into non-levy cement bags for its diversion to
works not intended, the Inspector of Police, Vigilance Cell
with his staff made a surprise visit in presence of
witnesses at about 1 p.m. the same day, to the site of a
private building under construction, and found the
information passed on to him to be correct. On inquiry it
was discovered that a house belonging to one Smt. Mahati
Singh, daughter of Y. Krishna Murthy, Divisional Railway
Manager, was under construction under the supervision of the
detenu, and the levy cement transferred into non-levy cement
bags, was being stored in a nearby shed for use in the
construction of the said house. The watchman of Y. Krishna
Murthy, named Varala Vollaiah, was kept there as guard. The
detenu was supervising the construction of the house through
his employee James George. The workmen engaged in the work
were also examined by the police. The facts which came to
light indicated that two days earlier, that is, on
16.12.1986, 200 bags of levy cement reached the site and
were unloaded in the shed. James George instructed the
labourers to transfer the cement into non-levy cement bags,
and his instruction was carried out on the following day,
the 17th of December, 1986 and
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non-levy cement bags were restitched. Yollaiah, the
watchman, further stated that the cement was sent by the
detenu through James George who had informed the witness
that cement or two other lorries had also been unloaded in
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the nearby Kakatiyangar and stored in a room belonging to
the Nageshwar Rao for similar misuse. On receiving this
information the Police Inspector raided the plot in
Kakatiyanagar mentioned by the witness and recovered 400
bags of levy cement. A criminal case under Clauses 12 and 13
of the A.P. Levy Cement Distribution (Licensing and
Regulation) Order, 1982, read with Sections 7 and 8 of the
Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was commenced and further
investigation proceeded.
3. The investigation continued for three months till
18.3.1987. Smt. Mahati Singh and her father Y. Krishna
Murthy were also examined by the police and they confirmed
that the detenu Madhava Rao was looking after the
construction of Smt. Mahati Singh’s house. The evidence
collected by the police indicated that 1000 bags of levy
cement was handed over to the detenu through his employee
Babu on 16.12.1986 and out of this stock 600 bags on three
lorries were despatched to Habshiguda, which were discovered
by the Inspector on the 18th of December 1986. Both Madhava
Rao and his servant James absconded and were ultimately
arrested on 18.3.1987, when the detenu is alleged to have
confessed before the Inspector of Police. The detenu was
released on bail the following day, that is, 19.3.1987. All
these facts were mentioned in the grounds and it was stated
that on a consideration of the entire circumstances the
District Magistrate was of the opinion that mere launching
of the criminal case against the detenu would not
effectively prevent him from acting in a manner prejudicial
to the maintenance of supplies of cement. The order was
later confirmed by the Advisory Board.
4. The detenu filed his first representation on the
20th of May 1987 which was rejected by the State Government
as also the Advisory Board later. In the meantime a writ
application being W.P. No. 6636 of 1987 was filed before the
High Court on 1.6.1987 challenging the detention order. The
Writ Petition in this Court was filed on 13.7.1987.
5. A second representation on behalf of the detenu was
filed by his cousin P. Lakshmana Rao on 5.6.1987, in which a
prayer was made for revocation of the detention order. It
was been contended on behalf of the petitioner that it was
the duty of the Central Government to consider and dispose
of this representation promptly which was not
979
done. It is said that the representation remained
unattended, until the State Government reminded the Central
Government in this regard after filing of the present writ
petition and it was only then that the Central Government
rejected the same on 2.9.1987. The reply is that by this
representation the detenu’s cousin merely reiterated the
points already taken in the first representation of the
detenu which had been after consideration dismissed, and it
was, therefore, not necessary to deal with the same points
over and over again. Besides, this representation also was
considered and rejected by the Central Government later.
6. Mr. Tarkunde, learned counsel for the petitioner,
challenged the order of detention on the grounds of: (i)
delay of about five months in passing the order, (ii) the
allegation against the detenu of diverting levy cement for
private use being incorrect, (iii) the second representation
filed by the detenu’s cousin having remained undisposed of
by the Central Government for about three months, (iv) the
sponsoring officer’s default in not placing all the relevant
facts before the detaining authority before the impugned
order was passed, and (v) the order having been passed on
the basis of a solitary incident. During his argument the
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learned counsel did not press the last point and it is,
therefore, not necessary to deal with it except pointing out
that having regard to the statement made by the detaining
authority, the District Magistrate, that in view of the
circumstances of the case including the fact that the detenu
was engaged in executing many contract works for the
Railways, it was essential for preventing him from indulging
in subversive acts similar to the one stated in the grounds,
to detain him, there is no merit in the point which was
rightly not pressed.
7. Mr. Tarkunde strenuously urged that in view of the
long delay of about five months from the alleged incident on
the 18th of December, 1986, in passing of the impugned
order, the same is fit to be quashed. Learned Advocate
General, appearing for the State of Andhra Pradesh, pointed
out that the detenu was absconding for three months until he
was arrested on 18.3.1987. In reply to the argument that the
detenu could not have been absconding, as this fact does not
appear to have been mentioned in the orders of the criminal
court dealing with the bail applications, the learned
Advocate General placed before us the case diary of the
criminal case in which the accused Madhava Rao was stated to
be absconding on several dates from December 1986 to March
1987. By way of illustration, the letter of the Inspector of
Police dated 26.12.1986 addressed to the Public Prosecutor,
High Court, Hyderabad may be seen wherein it was stated
980
in paragraph 6 that Madhava Rao and James were absconding
since the date of commission of the offence. In the next
letter dated 1.1.1987 they were again described as
absconding. The copy of the diary Part-I dated 12.1.1987
states that nobody was supplying the whereabouts of Madhava
Rao. Similarly the diary dated 15.1.1987 mentions that
Madhava Rao contractor was absconding and his employees were
also not available. The search for the absconding persons
was being continued throughout February and March 1987 till
the detenu was arrested as is fully supported by the case
diary of later dates. In the meantime two applications for
anticipatory bail were filed one after the other on behalf
of Madhava Rao before the the criminal Court and it is true
that the orders passed thereon did not state that the
accused was absconding, but for that reason the diary of
various dates mentioning the fact cannot be ignored and it
is not legitimate to claim that Madhava Rao was not
absconding. We repeatedly asked learned counsel for the
petitioner to show any material indicating that the detenu
was present on any date before the criminal Court or was
available to the police but it was conceded that there was
no such document. In the second application for anticipatory
bail reliance was placed on a medical certificate issued by
a doctor. The diary indicates that the police inquired from
the doctor on the 3rd of March 1987 about the same pointing
out that the accused was an absconder. There was, therefore,
no doubt at all that in the police records the detenu was
considered to be an absconder throughout till his arrest on
the 18th of March, 1987. The affidavit of the District
Magistrate filed before the High Court indicates that the
further investigation in the case continued even after the
arrest of Madhava Rao and the details of the ownership of
the house in construction and the neighbouring shed and
other similar relevant information could be collected only
later and thus the investigation was complete on 13.5.1987.
The matter was placed before the District Magistrate on
14.5.1987 and he passed the impugned order on the following
day, that is, 15.5.1987. Having regard to the circumstances,
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there is no doubt that the respondents have satisfactorily
explained the delay in passing the order. The delay cannot
by itself vitiate the decision to detain a person and this
is fully demonstrated by the cases of Rajendra Prasad v.
State of Uttar Pradesh and another, [1981] 4 SCC 558 wherein
the order was passed after seven months, Smt. Hemlata
Kantilal Shah v. State of Maharashtra, [1981] 4 SCC 647 and
Malwa Shaw v. The State of West Bengal, A.I.R. 1974 SC 957
wherein the orders of detention were passed five months
later. The first point urged on behalf of the petitioner,
therefore, is rejected.
981
8. In support of his second point Mr. Tarkunde
contended that it is open to the petitioner to show that the
levy cement which was being transferred into non-levy cement
bags did not belong to Madhava Rao, and the impugned order
having been passed on that assumption is, therefore, fit to
be quashed. In other words, the learned counsel said, that
the ground mentioned for the detention being non-existent
the application must succeed. Reliance was placed on a
certificate dated 23.6.1987 of the office of the Divisional
Railway Manager (Works), Hyderabad in reply to a letter by
one K. Eswara Rao that 1000 bags of cement issued to him on
16.12.1986 was Puzzolon Portland Cement, Pyramid Brand of
Pariyan Company and it was urged that as the 5 empty bags
having the marks of "Ajanta Brand Kesoram, Basant Nagar
(A.P.) Portland Pozzolana Cement" as stated in the Panchnama
(page 82 of the paperbook of the Writ Petition) was found by
the police, it must be assumed that the levy cement which
was being transferred to empty bags was not the same which
was issued to the detenu. Learned Advocate General,
appearing for the respondent State, replied that there was
sufficient material on the records of the case on the basis
of which the detaining authority could have legitimately
assumed that the cement in question was part of the cement
issued to Madhava Rao. Before examining the point urged on
behalf of the petitioner on merits, it must be pointed out
that this Court while considering petitioner’s writ
application is not sitting in appeal over the detention
order, and it is not for us to go into and assess the
probative value of the evidence available to the detaining
authority. Of course, a detention order not supported by any
evidence may have to be quashed, but that is not the
position here. There was clearly sufficient material before
the District Magistrate to justify the forming of his
opinion as stated earlier. The question was not raised in
the writ petition filed before the High Court, and the plea
based upon the brand of cement was belatedly taken in the
case and has been dealt with at same length in the judgment
of the High Court which is under challenge in the Special
Leave Petition. We do not consider it necessary to repeat
them but we would mention briefly the argument of the
learned Advocate General which appears to be well founded.
Our attention was drawn to the Gatepass (page 154 of the
paperbook of the writ petition) showing the issuance of the
levy cement "to the contractor", that is, Madhava Rao, which
was signed by Mohammad Chand on behalf of the Railways and
Babu, Madhava Rao’s employees. This does not mention the
name of Eashwar Rao, the other employee of the contractor.
It is not denied on behalf of the detenu that he has been
executing many contract works for the Railways, and
therefore it cannot be presumed that the same consignment
was the
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subject matter of the Gate-pass as well as the certificate
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relied upon on behalf of the petitioner. The point now urged
on the basis of the brand of cement was taken on behalf of
the petitioner belatedly as mentioned earlier. Besides, the
detenu accepted the allegations against himself in his
statement recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure. It is true that it may not be a legally recorded
confession which can be used as substantive evidence against
the accused in the criminal case, but it cannot be
completely brushed aside on that ground for the purpose of
his preventive detention. The records further show that the
oral evidence of the watchman and the labourer engaged in
the house construction proved that it was the levy cement
issued to the detenu which was being diverted at his
instance. Before closing this chapter it may be re-stated
that the sufficiency of the materials available to the
detaining authority is not to be examined by the Court.
9. So far as the second representation filed by Madhava
Rao’s cousin Lakshmana Rao is concerned, it has, in fact,
been disposed of by the Central Government but about 3
months later after its filing. It was argued that Section 14
of the Act clothes the authority with the power of revoking
the detention order, and such a power carries with it the
duty to exercise it whenever and as soon as changed or new
factors call for the exercise of that power. Reliance was
placed on the observations of this Court at page 786 in
Haradhan Saha and another v. The State of West Bangal and
others, [1975] 1 SCR 778 and those in paragraph 9 of the
Judgment in Sat Pal v. The State of Punjab, 1982 1 SCC 12.
It is true that such a power coupled with the duty exists
but the duty to exercise it arises only where new and
relevant facts and circumstances come to light. This was not
so here, and as observed in para 13 of the Judgment in State
of Uttar Pradesh v. Zavad Zama Khan, [1984] 3 SCC 505,
there is no right in favour of the detenu to get his
successive representations based on the same grounds
rejected earlier to be formally disposed of again. In any
event no period of limitation is fixed for disposal of an
application under Section 14 and as we have seen earlier the
second representation filed by Lakshamana Rao indeed, was
considered and rejected.
10. On behalf of the petitioner it was next contended
that the fact that both Krishna Murthy and Smt. Mahati Singh
had retracted their alleged statements before the police
implicating Madhava Rao and the order in the criminal case
granting bail to the detenu conditionally, were not placed
before the detaining authority which has vitiated the
detention order. It is claimed that as a matter of fact the
983
aforesaid two persons never made any statement before the
police or anybody else connecting Madhava Rao with the
construction of Smt. Mahati Singh’s house and it is
incorrect to say that they were ever questioned by the
police as alleged. Reference was made to the order passed in
the criminal case on the anticipatory bail application of
the detenu in which there is no such statement. The learned
counsel argued that the absence of such a reference in the
order leads to the conclusion that the police never examined
them.
11. The High Court has rightly repelled a similar
argument, pointing out that in the application for
anticipatory bail of Smt. Mahati Singh it was categorically
stated that the vigilance police had gone to the residence
of her father and thoroughly interrogated her and her
father. Krishna Murthy also made a similar statement in his
application for anticipatory bail. It will, therefore be
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idle to suggest otherwise merely for the reason that the
criminal court did not choose in its order to mention these
facts. Besides, it has long been established that the
subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority as
regards the factual existence of the condition on which the
order of detention can be made, namely, the grounds of
detention constitute the foundation for the exercise of the
power of detention and the Court cannot be invited to
consider the propriety or sufficiency of the grounds on
which the satisfaction of the detaining authority is based.
Nor can the Court, on a review of the grounds, substitute
its own opinion for that of the authority. In the instant
case the ground of detention is only one, viz. the detenu
was acting prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of
commodity, that is, levy cement, essential to the community
by diverting it to the open market. The grounds of detention
served along with the order are nothing but a narration of
facts. The question whether the detenu was acting in a
manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies essential
to the life of the community is a matter of inference to be
drawn from facts. The learned Advocate General was fair
enough to accept before us that the applications for grant
of anticipatory bail moved before the criminal Court were
not placed before the detaining authority. Even so, it could
not be said that there was no material upon which the
subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority could be
based. It appears from the grounds, i.e., the facts set out
that the detenu had made a statement admitting that he had
diverted 600 bags of levy cement issued to him for use in
the masonry ballast wall along the railway track and
therefore the District Magistrate was justified in coming to
the conclusion that he (the detenu) was acting in a manner
prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of the commodity
essential to the community. The three decisions in Asha Devi
v. K.
984
Shiveraj, Addl. Chief Secretary to the Government of Gujarat
and another, [1979] 2 SCR 215; Mohd. Shakeel Wahid Ahmed v.
State of Maharashtra and others, [1983] 2 SCR 614 and
Kurjibhai Dhanjibhai Patel v. State of Gujarat, [1985] 1
Scale 964 were cases where there was failure on the part of
the sponsoring authority in not furnishing the relevant
material to the detaining authority which was a vitiating
factor. This Court had occasion to deal with them in
Pushpadevi M. Jatia v. M.L. Wadhawan, Additional Secretary,
Government of India and others, [1987] 3 SCC 367 in para 12
of its judgment. These decisions proceed on the well settled
principle that if ’material and vital facts’ which would
influence the mind of the detaining authority one way or the
other on the question whether or not to make the detention
order, are not placed, it would vitiate the subjective
satisfaction rendering the detention order illegal. That is
not so in the present case. There was ample material before
the District Magistrate for him to base his subjective
satisfaction as to the necessity for passing impugned order
as stated by him in his affidavit.
12. We do not find any merit in the case for quashing
the impugned detention order and accordingly both the writ
petition and the special leave application are dismissed.
N.V.K. Petition dismissed.
985