On Friday in Ahmedabad, Gujarat high court summoned the police commissioner Shivanand Jha and district collector Rajkumar Beniwal and brought to their notice that their offices have remained careless in replying to court notices on PASA orders.
When the government officials failed to reply court notices, Justice M R Shah last week ordered the CP and the district collector to appear before court on Friday to explain the issue. Accordingly, the judge talked to Jha in his chamber in the afternoon and conveyed the court’s concern to him.
The HC was concerned about non-reply to Gujarat High court notices and Justice Shah decided to summon the officials, when their offices did not reply to court notice to a petition against pre-detention order under PASA of one Wasimuddin Shaikh. He was booked under animal cruelty laws while transporting cows and calves in Ahmedabad. After being released on bail, the authorities passed a pre-detention order.
Shaikh urged the court to quash the order on ground that other co-accused persons in this case were detained under PASA and he was also apprehending detention under PASA.
Besides, the high court was also concerned with passing of PASA orders by authorities on solitary offence, on single FIR. This has lately led to flurry of petitions against such orders. The HC had to delegate work to different benches to dispose of such petitions to dispose of the cases timely.
