Society Where Earning Members of Family Are Addicted Will Suffer Financially: Bombay HC Upholds Detention Order

The Bombay High Court has recently observed that earning members of families addicted to liquor suffer financially and socially.

“A Society in which the earning members of the families are addicted, naturally suffer financially, socially and otherwise and such business of manufacturing illicit country-made liquor and supply it to the people at large and making them addicted, definitely prejudicially, affects the maintenance of public order,” the order reads.

The division bench of the high court, comprising Justice Bharathi Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande, was hearing a petition filed by a woman who challenged the detaining authority. The petitioner was detained for manufacturing illicit country-made liquor.

The detaining authority detained the woman in September 2023, under sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug-offenders, Dangerous Persons and Video Pirates Act, 1981, by the Commissioner of Police, Pune City

The high court while upholding the order of detaining authority said that, “..we are satisfied that the Detaining Authority has rightly formed an opinion about the activities of the detenu, being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and was subjectively satisfied that she is a bootlegger and have been regularly indulging in production and sale of country-made liquor, her activities resulting in causing and calculated to cause widespread danger to life and health of people,” the order states.

The high court also said that the detaining authority formed the opinion that it is not only the manufacturing of liquor without the necessary permissions under the Bombay Prohibition Act, but the activity of manufacturing the liquor and the ‘law and order’ situation created on account of people consuming the liquor is what has to be found prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.

The high court in the order noted that as per the statement of witnesses, the petitioner created a reign of terror in the minds of common people.

“Not only this, the act of the detenu as per the statement of witness (A) and (B) that she created a reign of terror in the minds of common people and in light of the aforesaid circumstances, we are of the firm view that the impugned order of detention asked by the Commissioner of Police, Pune do not warrant any interference by upholding the Writ Petition and the same is, dismissed,” the order reads.

Case title: Saraswati Santosh Rathod vs Commissioner of Police Pune