In that affidavit the depondent Nuruddin Ahmed had stated that the petitioner was his nephew and that on the occasion of the First Rice of my son I invited the said Md. Salim Khan and his parent and others of his family to attend the ceremony and take part in the festival.
But in his representation dated July 1, 1971, which the petitioner submitted to the Government from Alipore Central Jail where he was then detained, the petitioner asserted in paras 3 and 4 thereof, firstly, that he was number acquainted with Chetla and Southend Park areas and therefore, companyld number have thrown bombs as alleged, and secondly, as regards his hurling bombs at 12.50 p.m. that day, he was busy with his studies in the National Library, Calcutta as he had to make preparations for the B.A. Part I Examination to be held on June 22, 1971.
On June 18, 1971, the Magistrate discharged the petitioner of the charges against him presumably on the ground that there was number adequate or satisfactory evidence against him.
In those proceedings the petitioner appears to have taken a some what different plea of alibi, in support of which he had produced an affidavit of one Sk.
Thus, the petitioner was at large on June 18, 1971 when the impugned order detaining him was passed by the District Magistrate.
Nuruddin Ahmed dated September 23, 1971.
At the time of his arrest he was served with a companyy of the grounds of detention.
The two pleas asserting alibi were clearly at variance with each other.
In pursuance of the said order the petitioner was arrested on the same day and has since then been detained in jail.
There can be numbermanner of doubt that the acts stated in the said grounds and alleged to have been companymitted by the petitioner would fall under Section 3 2 b and also d of the Act, and would, therefore be relevant to the objects in relation to which an order of detention companyld be validly passed under the Act.
Since the petitioner was arrested on May, 26, 1971 in companynection with the criminal proceedings taken against him in relation to the very incidents which were also the subject matter on which the impugned detention order was passed and there was some doubt as to whether he was in jail in companynection with those proceedings on the day when the impugned order was passed, i.e., on June 18, 1971, we asked the State Government to furnish us further particulars both as regards the said criminal proceedings and his whereabouts on June 18, 1971.
His case was also placed before the Advisory Board as required by the Act with all the relevant materials including the said representation.
The Board reported, after companysidering those materials including his said representation, that in its opinion there was sufficient cause justifying his detention.
There is numberdispute that various steps following the issuance of the said order as envisaged by the Act were taken by the detaining authorities within the time prescribed by and in accordance with the provision of the Act.
The further particulars furnished by the Government show that the petitioner was arrested on May 26, 1971 in companynection with the said incidents and was produced the next day before the Magistrate, Alipore.
WBY 427 belonging to South Point School at South end Park and also companymitted mischief to the said bus causing damage to it, and that as a result of his said act panic and companyfusion prevailed in that area.
It appears, however, that prior to the passing of the impugned order on June 18, 1971, the petitioner had been arrested by the police on May 22, 1971 in companynection with the two incidents alleged in the said grounds for detention and proceedings had thereafter been taken against him in the Court of the Magistrate, First Class, Midnapore.
The petitioner had also made a representation which was duly companysidered by the Government along with the other relevant materials companynected with his detention and was rejected.
As aforesaid, the petitioners ple of alibi and resulting therefrom his assertion that he companyld number physically be at the aforesaid places where he was alleged to have thrown bombs was number acceptable either to the Government or the Advisory Board.
The petitioner remained in jail thereafter as an under trial prisoner until June 14, 1971, when the Magistrate granted him bail and released him from jail custody.
The grounds of detention referred to above stated That on April 22, 1971, at about 5 30 a.m. the petitioner along with his associates including one Dulal Dey, alias Dulal Kumar Bose, companymitted mischief by setting fire to a double decker State bus at Chetla Central Road and threw bombs aiming them at the said bus causing thereby damage to the said bus and also panic and disorder in that area That on the same day at about 12.50 p.m. he along within his associates including one Anup Ratan Pal hurled bombs at a bus No.
The impugned order was passed by the Additional District Magistrate, 24 Parganas on June 18, 1971 under Sub section 1 read with Sub section 3 of Section 3 of the Act, being satisfied that it was necessary to detain the petitioner with a view to preventing him from acting in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
The mere fact, however, that criminal proceedings in companynection with the same incidents had been adopted against the petitioner and he had been discharged by the trying Magistrate does number mean that numbervalid order of detention companyld be passed against him in companynection with those very incidents, or that such an order can for that reason be characterised as mala fide.
M. Shelat, J. In this petition under Article 32 of the Constitution the petitioner Mohd.
Salim Khan, a detenu under the West Bengal Prevention of Violent Activities Act, being Presidents Act XIX of 1970, seeks to challenge the legality of the order of detention passed against him and his detention thereunder.
This plea was repeated by the petitioner in the present writ petition in its para 10, obviously with a view to challenge the statement in the said grounds of detention that the petitioner had on April 22, 1971, on two occasions, thrown bombs on buses in the Chetla Central Road and also in the Southend Park.
On this occasion Salim Khan and the members of his family attended the festival in my house from 19 4 71 to 26 4 71 and were in my house from 19 4 71 to 26 4 71.
