Kumar Bahukhandi
Allahabad High Court has made an important comment while cancelling the action taken against a person under the Goonda Act. The court said that how can action be taken under the Goonda Act against a person against whom not a single case has been registered in the last 6 years. Justice Nalin Kumar Srivastava said that no one’s freedom can be taken away on the basis of vague and inadequate allegations.
In this case, a case was registered against the petitioner Wahid alias Abdul Wahid under the Goondas Act in Wave City Police Station of Ghaziabad. The police officer described him as a ‘dreaded criminal’ in his report and alleged that due to fear of him, no one was daring to file a report against him. However, the court made it clear that the witnesses in the three cases registered against the petitioner appeared in the court without any fear and gave evidence.
The court said that the authorities worked mechanically in this case and did not use judicial discretion. The petitioner’s lawyer argued that only cases of personal nature are registered against the petitioner and he has not committed any crime in the last 6 years. After hearing these arguments, the court cancelled the order of the authorities.
