Bombay HC quashes MPDA detention for lack of proper documents

Describing it as "improper", the Bombay High Court has set aside an order detaining a man under Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons and Video Pirates Act (MPDA).
Mehmood Shahjad Khan alias Pathan, a resident of Mumbai, was detained under MPDA by an order of the Commissioner of Police (Thane) dated October 1 last year.
This was done on the basis of in-camera statements given by two witnesses on August 18 and 23 last year to a senior inspector of police.
An Assistant Commissioner of Police had verified the in-camera statements. Though Mehmood was provided copies of in-camera statements, he was not given the copies of verification of witnesses' statements. Also, the name of the ACP was not revealed to him.

On this ground, the impugned order of detention is vitiated and the same deserves to be quashed and set aside, Justices A R Joshi and Abhay Oak said in a recent order.
Accordingly, the bench quashed the impugned detention order.

The court set aside Mehmood's detention under MPDA on a petition filed by his mother challenging the impugned order.
"We have perused the copies of in-camera statements forming part of the compilation of documents served upon the petitioner's son. In the verification part of the in-camera statements, the names of the witnesses are kept blank and even the name and designation of the officer who allegedly verified the in-camera statements are not mentioned," the bench said.

The court further noted that the allegation of the detaining authority is that the statements were duly verified by the Assistant Commissioner of Police. "Thus, either the contention that the in-camera statements were verified by the Assistant Commissioner Police is false, or the copies of the verification supplied to the detenu are incorrect."
Going by what the detaining authority has stated, its suffice to say that true copies of the verification or verified statements have not been supplied to the petitioner's son, the bench remarked.