Legal 'expert' cop hailed for SC order on criminal's detention

The supreme court's recent order to restore detention period of a criminal from Aurangabad in Maharashtra to 12 months has brought cheers to the police force, with senior officers crediting an LLM-graduate head constable for his role in securing the favourable ruling.

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court had earlier brought down the original 12-month detention period of history-sheeter Balu Patole to six months under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, 1981.

The HC decision was challenged before the apex court by the Aurangabad Police.

After the SC order, the role of crime branch head constable Dwarkadas Bhange, Aurangabad Police, is being hailed by senior IPS officers.

Bhange had assisted the government lawyer in the SC by providing him old citations and verdicts in similar cases to boost the police's case against Patole.

"Bhange's findings were valuable and they have been circulated among investigating officers," Additional Director General of Police (Training) Sanjay Saxena had said on November 16.

He had directed all commissioners of police and superintendents of police that judgments of sessions courts in their respective areas be studied in the similar manner.

Underlining the significance of the supreme court order, Bhange told PTI on Tuesday that the previous high court ruling would have had a bearing on all MPDA cases in Maharashtra.

"But this order of the supreme court will help us in keeping such criminals behind bars until they finish their fullest detention period," he said.

Bhange, who studied at least 215 cases in which sessions courts had passed acquittal orders during his LLM (Master of Laws) course, had came out with several suggestions for improving the conviction rate in Maharashtra earlier this year.

In view of the HC order, the accused Patole was released from detention in March this year, as he had already finished the detention period of six months.

The extended detention period ended on October 14.

The MPDA Act was enacted to provide for preventive detention of slumlords, bootleggers, drug-offenders, dangerous persons, video pirates, sand-smugglers and persons engaged in black-marketing of essential commodities, for preventing their dangerous activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.