Aishwarya Rathore-
Published on: August 7, 2021, at 13:53 IST
The Gujarat High Court questioned the District Magistrate (DM), Gir-Somnath, whether his administration takes care of citizens in its jurisdiction the same way it claims to care for cow.
The Bench of Justice Paresh Upadhyay was hearing a petition challenging the DM’s Detention Order under the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 on the grounds that the petitioner allegedly tied up livestock in such a way that they couldn’t drink water.
The Bench orally remarked, “Protecting cows is alright, but is similar care being taken for citizens?”
The petitioner was booked for not taking proper care of cows and later Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) was invoked against him.
The Court had noted that the detaining authority had exercised the powers, treating the petitioner as a ‘cruel person’ within the meaning of the Section 2(bbb) of the Act.
The Court observed, “Said two FIRs and other material which is on record is considered by this Court. On conjoint consideration of the material and the arguments of the contesting parties, prima facie, the impugned order is not sustainable.”
With this, the execution of the impugned detention order passed by the District Magistrate, Gir-Somnath was suspended until further order.
The Court directed, “If any such reply is filed by the detaining authority before the next date of hearing that shall also be taken into consideration by this Court while recording the final order. Until that exercise is done, the petitioner needs to be protected. Further execution of the impugned detention order therefore needs to be suspended.”
Also Read: What is the difference between Illegal Detention and Abduction?
