RAMESHBHAI VERSHIBHAI DESAI THROUGH RAJUBHAI VERSIBHAI DESAIversusSTATE OF GUJARAT

      R/SCR.A/3546/2026                          ORDER DATED: 16/03/2026




             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

            R/SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3546 of 2026

==========================================================
     RAMESHBHAI VERSHIBHAI DESAI THROUGH RAJUBHAI VERSIBHAI
                             DESAI
                             Versus
                    STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR HR PRAJAPATI(674) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MS NISHKA H PRAJAPATI(10717) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR BHARGAV PANDYA, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
==========================================================

 CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ILESH J. VORA
       and
       HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R. T. VACHHANI

                             Date : 16/03/2026

                        ORAL ORDER
 (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ILESH J. VORA)


1.     The petitioner herein namely Rameshbhai Vershibhai
       Desai came to be preventively detained vide the
       detention order dated 09.03.2026 passed by the
       Police        Commissioner,     Ahmedabad       City,       as      a
       “dangerous person” as defined under Section 2(c) of
       the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-social Activities Act,
       1985 (herein after referred as ‘the Act of 1985).

2.     By way of this petition, the petitioner has challenged
       the legality and validity of the aforesaid order.




                                 Page 1 of 7
     R/SCR.A/3546/2026                               ORDER DATED: 16/03/2026




3.   This Court has heard learned counsel Mr. H. R.
     Prajapati and Mr. Bhargav Pandya, learned Additional
     Public Prosecutor for the respective parties.

4.   Learned advocate for the detenue submits that the
     grounds of detention has no nexus to the “public
     order”, but is a purely a matter of law and order, as
     registration of the offence cannot be said to have
     either affected adversely or likely to affect adverse the
     maintenance of public order as contemplated under
     the explanation sub-section (4) of Section 3 of the Act,
     1985 and therefore, where the offences alleged to
     have been committed by the detunue have no bearing
     on the question of maintenance of public order and his
     activities could be said to be a prejudicial only to the
     maintenance of law and order and not prejudicial to
     the maintenance of public order.

5.   On the other hand, learned State Counsel opposing
     the      application   contended        that,    the     detenue          is
     habitual offender and his activities affected at the
     society at large. In such set of circumstances, the
     Detaining Authority, considering the antecedents and
     past activities of the detenue, has passed the
     impugned order with a view to preventing him from
     acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance
     of public order in the area of Ahmedabad City.



                               Page 2 of 7
     R/SCR.A/3546/2026                              ORDER DATED: 16/03/2026




6.   Having          considered   the       facts   as   well      as         the
     submissions made by the respective parties, the issue
     arise as to whether the order of detention passed by
     the Detaining Authority in exercise of his powers
     under the provisions of the Act of 1985 is sustainable
     in law?

7.   The order impugned was executed upon the petitioner
     and presently he is in Jail. In the grounds of detention,
     a reference of two criminal cases i.e. (i) for the offence
     under Sections 109, 118(2), 115(2), 190, 191(2)(3),
     351(3), 352 of BNS and 135(1) of G.P. Act dated
     07.08.2024 with Adalaj Police Station, (ii) for the
     offence under Sections 118(1), 115(2), 296(b), 351(2),
     54 of BNS dated 07.12.2025 with Sola High Court
     Police Station, registered against the petitioner under
     the BNS was made and further it is alleged that, the
     activities of the detenue as a “dangerous person”
     affects adversely or are likely to affect adversely the
     maintenance of public order as explained under
     Section 3 of the Act of 1985. Admittedly, in all the said
     offences, the petitioner was granted bail.

8.   After careful consideration of the material, we are of
     the considered view that on the basis of two criminal
     cases, the authority has wrongly arrived at the
     subjective satisfaction           that the activities of the
     detenue could be termed to be acting in a manner


                                  Page 3 of 7
R/SCR.A/3546/2026                                ORDER DATED: 16/03/2026




‘prejudicial to the maintenance of public order’. In our
opinion, the said offences do not have any bearing on
the maintenance of public order. In this connection,
we may refer to the decision of the Apex Court in the
case of Piyush Kantilal Mehta Vs. Commissioner
of Police, Ahmedabad, 1989 Supp (1) SCC 322,
wherein, the detention order was made on the basis
of the registration of the two prohibition offences. The
Apex Court after referring the case of Pushkar
Mukherjee Vs. State of Bengal, 1969 (1) SCC 10
held and observed that mere disturbance of law and
order        leading       to   detention     order    is    thus          not
necessarily sufÏcient for action under preventive
detention Act.          Paras-17 & 18 are relevant to refer,
which read thus:

   “17. In this connection, we may refer to a decision of
   this Court in Pushkar Mukherjee v. State of West
   Bengal, where the distinction between `law and
   order' and `public order' has been clearly laid down.
   Ramaswami, J. speaking for the Court observed as
   follows:
                    10. "Does the expression `public order'
                    take in every kind of infraction of order or
                    only    some       categories     thereof?       It     is
                    manifest that every act of assault or
                    injury to specific persons does not lead to


                                Page 4 of 7
R/SCR.A/3546/2026                                 ORDER DATED: 16/03/2026




                    public disorder. When two people quarrel
                    and fight and assault each other inside a
                    house or in a street, it may be said that
                    there is disorder but not public disorder.
                    Such cases are dealt with under the
                    powers      vested       in      the       executive
                    authorities      under     the      provisions           of
                    ordinary criminal law but the culprits
                    cannot be detained on the ground that
                    they were disturbing public order. The
                    contravention of any law always affects
                    order but before it can be said to affect
                    public order, it must affect the community
                    or the public at large. In this connection
                    we must draw a line of demarcation
                    between serious and aggravated forms of
                    disorder      which      directly      affect           the
                    community or injure the public interest
                    and the relatively minor breaches of
                    peace of a purely local significance which
                    primarily injure specific individuals and
                    only in a secondary sense public interest.
                    A mere disturbance of law and order
                    leading to disorder is thus not necessarily
                    sufÏcient for action under the Preventive
                    Detention Act but a disturbance which will
                    affect public order comes within the


                               Page 5 of 7
R/SCR.A/3546/2026                                  ORDER DATED: 16/03/2026




                     scope of the Act."

          18. In the instant case, the detaining authority,
          in our opinion, has failed to substantiate that the
          alleged anti- social activities of the petitioner
          adversely affect or are likely to affect adversely
          the maintenance of public order. It is true some
          incidents of beating by the petitioner had taken
          place, as alleged by the witnesses. But, such
          incidents, in our view, do not have any bearing
          on        the   maintenance        of   public    order.       The
          petitioner may be punished for the alleged
          offences committed by him but, surely, the acts
          constituting the offences cannot be said to have
          affected the even tempo of the life of the
          community. It may be that the petitioner is a
          bootlegger within the meaning of section 2(b) of
          the Act, but merely because he is a bootlegger
          he cannot be preventively detained under the
          provisions of the Act unless, as laid down in sub-
          section (4) of section 3 of the Act, his activities
          as a bootlegger affect adversely or are likely to
          affect adversely the maintenance of public order
          We have carefully considered the offences
          alleged against the petitioner in the order of
          detention and also the allegations made by the
          witnesses and, in our opinion, these offences or
          the allegations cannot be said to have created

                               Page 6 of 7
         R/SCR.A/3546/2026                                                             ORDER DATED: 16/03/2026




                       any feeling of insecurity or panic or terror
                       among the members of the public of the area in
                       question               giving           rise         to       the         question               of
                       maintenance of public order. The order of
                       detention cannot, therefore, be upheld.”

  9.      For the reasons recorded, we are of the considered
          opinion that, the material on record are not sufÏcient
          for holding that the alleged activities of the detenue
          have either affected adversely or likely to affect
          adversely the                      maintenance of                          public          order           and
          therefore, the subjective satisfaction arrived at by the
          detaining authority cannot be said to be legal, valid
          and in accordance with law.

  10. Accordingly, this petition stands allowed. The order
          impugned                   dated             09.03.2026                    passed               by          the
          respondent authority is hereby quashed. We direct the
          detenue to be set at liberty forthwith, if he is not
          required in any other case. Rule is made absolute
          accordingly. Direct service permitted.



                                                                                              (ILESH J. VORA,J)




                                                                                           (R. T. VACHHANI, J)
  AMIT ITALIAN
Original copy of this order has been signed by the Hon'ble Judges.
Digitally signed by: AMIT DAHYABHAI ITALIAN(HCW0112), ENGLISH STENOGRAPHER GRADE I, at High Court of Gujarat on 16/03/2026 15:57:06




                                                        Page 7 of 7