HC quashes arrest of former BSP MLA under NSA
ALLAHABAD The Allahabad high court on Wednesday set aside former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Yogesh Verma’s detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and ordered that he be released forthwith if he was not wanted in any other case.
A division bench comprising justice BK Narayana and justice RN Kakkar quashed the Meerut district magistrate’s order by which the former lawmaker had been detained under the NSA.
Verma’s detention had followed large-scale violence during Bharat Bandh called by Dalit groups on April 2 in protest against the Supreme Court judgment on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The Supreme Court judgment had provided certain safeguards in relation to arrest under the Act. Meerut district magistrate Anil Dhingra had issued the order detaining Verma under NSA on May 8.
The Meerut district administration alleged that Verma disturbed the public peace during the agitation. Verma challenged the detention order before the HC. The former MLA’s counsel Daya Shankar Mishra contended that the petitioner’s fundamental right regarding the right to equality was violated as he was denied the right to be represented by legal advisor before an advisory board.
On the other hand, the DM was represented by a legal advisor before the advisory board examining the detention order, he said. On March 20, the Supreme Court had issued guidelines to protect public servants and private individuals from arbitrary and immediate arrest under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A SC bench led by justice AK
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Goel (since retired) had in March ruled that there was no absolute bar against the grant of anticipatory bail in cases under the Act if no prima facie case was made out or where, on judicial scrutiny, the complaint is found to be prima facie malafide.
The court had also ruled that a public servant could only be arrested after approval of the appointing authority and a nonpublic servant after approval by the superintendent of police, which may be granted in appropriate cases, if considered necessary for reasons recorded.
Agitated over the decision, various dalit groups organised Bharat Bandh on April 2. Largescale violence took place during the bandh, especially in Saharanpur, Meerut and other areas of western UP. Following criticism from the SC/ST community and political parties, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government moved a review petition before the top court, which declined to accept the Centre’s request to stay its own (apex court’s) judgment. Later, the Act was amended to nullify the judgment and restore the power of immediate arrest to police and denial of anticipatory bail to the accused person.