Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Dangerous Persons, Video Pirates, Sand Smugglers and Persons Engaged in BlackMarketing of Essential Commodities Act, 1981 (MPDA Act) – Appellant was detained to prevent him from indulging in the activities of bootlegging thereby preventing the maintenance of peace – Subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority that the activities of the appellant were prejudicial to the maintenance of public order, if were substantiated: Held: No – None of the activities which form the basis of the detention order can be said to be affecting public order – All the six cases on the basis of which the proposal for detention was passed were with regard to selling of illicit liquor – Though six cases were registered, the Excise Authority did not find it necessary to arrest the appellant even on a single occasion – Every breach of peace does not lead to public disorder – When a person can be dealt with in exercise of powers to maintain the law and order, unless the acts of the proposed detainee are the ones which have the tendency of disturbing the public order a resort to preventive detention which is a harsh measure would not be permissible – As to whether a case would amount to threat to the public order or as to whether it would be such which can be dealt with by the ordinary machinery in exercise of its powers of maintaining law and order would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case – Impugned judgment of the High Court as also the order of detention passed by the detaining authority and the order of confirmation, quashed and set aside. [Paras 6, 13, 15, 20]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Divya Pandey. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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