S.C.R. BHAGUBHAI. DULLABHABHAI BHANDARI v. THE DISTRlCT MAGISTRATE, TRANA & OTHERS (with connected petition) [S. R~ DAS c. J., JAGANNADHADAS, VENKATARAMA AYYAR, B. P. SINHA and JAFER IMAM JJ.]
Bombay Police Act, 1951 (Bombay Act XXII of 1951), s. 56- 0onstitutional validity-Order of externment-Restrictions- Reasonableness-" Witness", scope of the word in the section-Whether not applicable to members of the police force or customs department- Oonstitution of India, Art. 19.
Section 56 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951, is not unconstitu· tional and does not contravene the provisions of Art. 19 of the Constitution. Gurbachan Singh v. State of Bombay ( [1952) S.C.R. 737),
followed. In order to attract the operation of the section the Officer con· earned _should be satisfied that the witnesses are not willing to come forward to give evidence in public, but it is not necessary to show that all the witnesses a.re unwilling to give evidence. The terms of the section do not justify any restricted meaning being given to the word "witnesses" and it is applicable to memberf! of the police force and employees and officers of the Customs Department also. Gurbachan Singh v. State of Bombay ( [1952] S.C.R. 737),
explained. Under the provisions of s. 56 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951, an order of externment was passed against the petitioner by whi'Ch he was directed to remove himself outside the limits of Greater Bombay and not to enter the said area for a. period of two yea.rs without the prescribed permission; and subsequently he entered Greater Bombay in order to" attend Court in a case pending a.go.inst him in which a warrant of arrest ha.d been issued. He wa.s convicted for committing the breach of the externment order and he contended that his ccnviction wa.s in itself a.n indication of the unreasonable· ness of the restriction.
Held, that the restrictions cannot be said to be unreasonable as the petitioner could have a.voided the prosecution a.nu the convic: ti on by obtaining the previous permission of the prescribed authority.
Per JAGANNADHADAS J.-If the matter were res integra I should have felt difficulty in upholding the validity of s. 56(b) of Ma;vB BhagrWhai Dullabhabhai Bhandari v. The District [1956]
the Bombay Police Act, 1951, in so far as it did not demarcate the application thereof ta the more serious classes of offences falling within. the specified Chapters. I should also have felt difficulty in holding a provision ta be reasonable which clothes the executive officers with an authority to extern a person for so long a. period as two years.
Magistrate, Thana ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Petitions Nos. 439 & and others 440 of 1955. Petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights.
H.J. Umrigar and R. A. Govind, for the peti- tioner in. Petition No. 439 of 1955. J. B. Dadachanji, for the petitioner in Petition No. 440 of 1955. M. G. Setalvad, Attorney-General of India, B. Sen
and R. H. Dhebar, for the respondents. 1956. May 8. The judgment of S. R. Das C. J. and Venkatarama Ayyar, B. P. Sinha and Jafer Imam JJ. was delivered by Sinha J. Jagannadha- das J. delivered a separate judgment.
SINHA J.-These petitions under article 32 of the Constitution challenge the constitutionality of some of the provisions of the Bombay Police Act, XXII of 1951 (which hereinafter will be referred to as "The
Act"), with special reference to section 56, as also of the orders passed against them externing them under that section of the Act. · In Petition No. 439 of 1955 Babubhai Dullabhbhai
Bhandari is the petitioner and the District Magistrate of Thana, the Deputy Superintendent of Police and Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Bhivandi Division, Bhiwandi, District Thana, and the State of Bombay
are respondents 1, 2 and 3. The petitioner is a citi- zen of India and carries on trade in grass at Bhilad, a railway station on the Western Railway. On 21st January 1955 the Deputy Superintendent of Police
and Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Bhiwandi Division, served a notice under section 56 of the Act in the following terms:- S.C.R. No. Ext. 3/1 of 1955 Office of the S.D.P.O. Bhiwandi,
Bhagubhai Bhiwandi, dated 21-1-1955. Dullabhabhai (I) I, Shri C. V. Bapat, Deputy Superintendent Bhanda.-i , of Police and Sub-Divisional Office Bhiwandi Di vi- v. sion, District Thana, do hereby issue a notice to you,
The District Shri Bhagu Dubai Bhandari alias Bhagwanbhai Dulla Magtstrate, Thana Bhai Jadhav of Bhilad District Thana, that it is pro- aud others posed that you should be removed outside the Dis-
Sinha J. trict of Thana and you should not enter or return to the said district for a period of two years from the date of the order to be made under section 56 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951 for the following reasons:-
. (II) Evidence is forthcoming that your following activities have caused and are calculated to cause alarm, danger and harm to person ,and property in Bhilad and the surrounding areas:-
(1) You have been dealing in smuggled foreign liquor and maintained a veil of secrecy by criminal intimidation and physical violence to the villagers and other right thinking persons.
(2) Your activities have been in continuation of your similar activities for the last five years, given as under:- ( a) You criminally assaulted persons with the help of your associates and did violent acts in order
to strike terror into the hearts of the v·illagers, so that they should not challenge you or your men. (b) You have been criminally assaulting and intimidating Central Excise and Custom officials with
the help of your gang, so as to stop them from look- ing into your anti-national, anti-social and illegal activities. As a result of your unlawful and danger- ous activities you are held in terrific awe by the
Central Excise and Custom Officers and men and villagers in Bhilad area who are continuously labour- ing under grave apprehension of danger to their per- son and property. (c) You and your associates were and are mak-
ing use of criminal intimidation against the villagers in order to prevent them from having recourse to legal means. [1956) (~II) That you and your associates are also under- stood to be in possession of unlicensed firearms which
Bhagubhal h n,,uabhabhai as been causing considerable ~!arm and spreading a Bhandari feeling of insecurity of life and property in the mind v. of villagers from Bhilad and neighbouring villages
The District and Central Excise and Customs employees. Mag,,trate, Thana (IV) The witnesses are not willing to come for- and others ward and to give evidence against you by reason of
SinhaJ. apprehension of danger and harm to their person and property. (V) Now, I Shri C. V. Bapat, Deputy Superin- tendent of Police and Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Bhiwandi Division, District Thana in exercise of the
1· authority conferred upon me under section 59 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951 by the District Magistrate Thana under his number MAG. 2/ EX dated 17-1-1955 do hereby direct you to appear before me at 11 a.m.
on 27-1-1955 at Dahanu in the office of the Sub-Divi- sional Police Office Dahanu for tendering your expla- nation regarding the said allegation. You are also entitled to appear before me by advocate for the pur-
pose of tendering your explanation and examining witnesses, produced by you. Signed and sealed this day of 21st Jan. 1955. To Sd …………………… . Deputy Superintendent of Police &
Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Bhiwandi. Shri Bhagu Dubai Bhandari @ Bhagwanbhai Dullabhai Jadhav of Bhilad, District Thana". By that notice the petitioner was called upon to ap- pear before the said police officer on the 27th January
1955 in order to enable the former to offer such ex- planation and examine such witnesses as he may be advised. In pursuance of that notice the petitioner appeared before the police officer aforesaid and the
hearing of his case took place on different dates. The petitioner claims to have examined seven "res- pectable persons" to testify on his behalf. Ulti- mately on the 11th July 1955 an order was passed by
the District Magistrate of Thana externing the peti- tioner outside the Thana District. The order of S.C.R. externment is Ex. D to the petition and contains the recitals that after considering the evidence before
Bhagubhai him and the· explanation offered by the petitioner the Dullabhabhai District Magistrate of Thana (the 1st respondent), Bhandari was satisfied that the petitioner "engages in giving
v. threats and assaulting Central Excise and Customs T?e District Officials men and residents of Bhilad and surround- Magistrate, Thana 'II d . d I . 'JI' 't t ffi f r and others mg v1 ages an
m u ges m i ic1 ra c o 1ore1gn liquor from Daman" and that in his opinion "wit- SinhaJ. nessess are not willing to come forward to give evi- dence in public against the said Shri Bhagubhai Dul-
labhbhai Bhandari alias Bhagwanbhai Dullabhbhai Jadhav of Bhilad by reason of apprehension on their part as regards the safety of their person and pro- perty". It is this order which is challenged as illegal and ultra vires and against which the petitioner has moved
this Court for an appropriate writ, direction or order against the respondents, prohibiting them, their ser- vants and agents from acting upon or taking any steps in enforcement, furtherance or pursuance of the said
order and from interfering in any manner with the petitioner's right to reside in Bhilad and carry on his business. The petitioner had preferred an appeal to the Government against the said order of externment.
But the appeal was dismissed on the 9th September 1955. Against the said order the petitioner moved the High Court of Judicature at Bombay under arti- cle 226 of the Constitution, but the said application
was also dismissed in limine by the. High Court by its order dated the 7th November 1955. The District Magistrate of Thana, the 1st respon- dent has sworn to the affidavit filed in this Court in
answer to the petition. He swears that he had passed the externment order complained against after perus- ing the police reports and going through the expla- nation offered by the petitioner and the statements
of the witnesses produced by him and on hearing his advocate. He further states in the affidavit that the general nature of the material allegations against the petitioner was given to him, that the material
given to him was clear and by no means vague. Only the names of the persons who had given the [1956] information against the petitioner :were not disclosed to him inasmuch as those persons were not prepared
d::!~~~~~; to come out in the open and depose against him in Bhandari public as witnesses. He was satisfied that witnesses v. were unwilling to come forward to give evidence in The DisMct
public against the petitioner. He also iiffirms that Magistrate, Thana the petitioner's movements and acts were not only and others causing alarm, danger or harm to personal property
SinhaJ. of the general public round about Bhilad, but also that his movements and acts were causing danger and alarm to public servants of the police force and the Central Excise who were doing very responsible
work at Bhilad which is on the borderline of the Indian territory adjoining Daman area which is Portuguese territory. He admits that the petitioner was discharged by the Judicial Magistrate, First
Class, Umberl;laon because the witnesses did not appear and depose against him for fear of the peti- tioner. In Petition No. 440 of 1955, Kun war Rameshwar Singh is the petitioner and the respondents are-
1. Shri W. K. Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch (I) C.l.D., Greater Bombay, 2. The Commissioner of Police, Greater Bom- bay, and 3. The State of Bombay. The petitioner is a citizen of India and claims to be
a "social worker" connected with several social organisations. He alleges that his main social acti- vity has been the improvement of the lot of prosti- tutes and singing girls in certain quarters of Bombay.
On the 2nd November, 1954 the petitioner was served with a notice under section 56 read with section 59 of the Act (Ex. A to the petition) setting out the allegations against him and calling upon him to ex-
plain those matters. In pursuance of the said notice the petitioner appeared before the Superintendent of Police to show cause against the proposed action against him. Ultimately on the 4th January, 1955
the Commissioner of Police, the second respondent, passed an order to the effect that the petitioner should remove himself from the limits of Greater Bombay S.C.R. within seven days. That order is marked Ex. H and
is to the following effect:- Order of Externment Bhagubha{ Didlabhabhai Bhandari (Section 56 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951) v. Police Station: Nagpada No. 7 /c/43/1955. The District
Magistrate, T/1ana Whereas the Commissioner of Police, Greater and ot1ters Bombay, has directed by his order, dated the 13th August, 1954 and 11th December 1954, made under Sinha].
sub-section (2) of section 10 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951 (Bombay Act XXII of 1951) that the powers, functions and duties under the said Act shall also be exercised by the Deputy Commissioners of
Police, Greater Bombay. And whereas evidence has been placed before me, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch (I), against the person known as Kunwar Rameshwar Singh, to the following effect:-
I. That since October, 1953 in the locality known as Falkland Road, Foras Road, Sukhalaji Street, Bapty Road, Kamathipura and the areas ad- joining thereto in Greater Bombay his movements
and acts are causing alarm and harm to the persons residing in, carrying on business in, or visiting the said locality in that: (i) He with assistance of his associates some of them being Sk. Makbool Sk. Hussain, Abdul Rahi-
man, Suleman alias Sapad, Ahmad Yusuf alias Ahmed Dalal, Shafi and others, extort money from women residing in and carrying on business either as prosti- tutes or singing girls in the said locality on threats of
assault and of causing bodily injury to them; (ii) That he with the assistance of the said associates assault or threaten with assault the afore- said women who do not comply with his demands for
money; (iii) That in order to compel the aforesaid women to pay him the money demanded 'by him he also posts his associates at or near the places of busi- ness of the aforesaid women and prevent customers
from entering the !ooms of such women; [1956] (iv) That he with the assistance of his asso- ciates extort money from shopkeepers, hotel-keepers, Bhagubhal h d k Dullal>habhai mere. ants an haw ers carrying on business in the
Bhandari said locality and from rent collectors of buildings v. !lccupied by the aforesaid prostitutes and singing The District girls by assaulting them or thre.atening them with Mag•strate, Thana assault and dislocation of business·
andothers ( ) T h. d h v hat e causes amage to t e property Sinha J. of the said hotelkeepers and hawkers of the said loca- lity who do not pay him money demanded by him; (vi) That he accosts persons visiting the
rooms of singing girls in the said locality for the pur- pose of entertainment and demand money from them under threats of assault and of preventing them from visiting the said locality;
(vii) That he has committed several acts of the nature mentioned above; II. That witnesses to the above incidents are not willing to come forward to give evidence in public against him as they apprehend that they will be
assaulted by him and/or by his associates if they do so. And whereas I have heard the said person and considered the explanation tendered by him and also the evidence given by the witnesses produced by him
and have heard his counsel; And whereas afte~ considering all the evidence and explanation detailed above, I am satisfied that:- The movements and acts of Kun war Ramesh war Singh since October, 1953, are causing alarm and harm
to the persons residing in carrying on business in or visiting the locality known as Falkland Road, Foras Road, Sukhalaji Street, Bapty Road, Kamathipura and the areas adjoining thereto in Greater Bombay
and that he indulges in activities mentioned above. And whereas in my opinion witnesses are unwill- ing to come forward to give evidence in public against the said person by reason of apprehension on their
part as regards the safety of their persons; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers vested in me under section 56 of the said Act, I, Shri W. K. Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch
S.C.R. (I) C.l.D., Greater Bombay hereby direct that the said Kun war Rameshwar Singh sh. all remove himself Bhagubhai outside the limits of Greater Bombay by Central ly. Dullabhabhai
(route) within seven days from the date of service of Bhandari this order and I further direct that he shall nbt enter v. the said area of Greater Bombay for a period of two T~e District
years from the date of this order without a permission Mlfgistrateh, Thana •t• f h C f p l' t and ot ers 1n wri mg rom t e omm1ss10ner o o 10e, rea er Bombay, or the Goyernment of Bombay.
Sd. W. K. Patil, Dy. Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch (I) C.l.D. Greater Bombay". The order quoted above is a self-contained one and discloses the nature of the allegations against him
which he had been called upon to explain. The peti- tioner pr-eferred an appeal to the third respondent, the State of Bombay. But his appeal was dismissea on the 17th January 1955. The petitioner challenged
the validity of the said order passed by the respon- dents by a petition under article 226 of the Constitu- tion to the Bombay High Court, but it was dismissed on the 14th March 1955 after hearing. The judgment
of the High Court is Exhibit D. The learned Judge of the Bombay High Court who dealt with the peti- tion has set out briefly the main allegations of the petitioner and the affidavit in answer to the peti-
tion sworn to by the 1st respondent here. The learned Judge observed in the course of his judgment that in view of the averments in the petition and those in the affidavit in reply it was impossible for him to
hold that the Deputy Commissioner of Police knew that witnesses were willing to give evidence against the petitioner. The petitioner went up on Letters Patent Appeal and a Division Bench consisting of the
Chief Justice and another Judge of the Bombay High Court dismissed the appeal holding that once the opinion has been formed by the authority that wit- nesses were unwilling to give evidence in public
against the petitioner, the court could not go behind that opinion. They also negatived the plea of want of bona fides in the 1st respondent who had initiated the proceedings. Sinha/.
r1956J The petitioner removed himself outside the limits of Greater Bombay. Having come to know that a Bhagubhai v,.uabllabhai warrant of arrest had been issued against him in Bhandari
a certain pending case before the Presidency Magis- v. trate, Fourth Court, at Girgaum, Bombay, on the The District 6th April 1955, the petitioner entered Greater Bom- Magistrate, Than• bay to attend court but he was ar·rested under the and others
Act for committing a breach oftheexternment order. SinhaJ. He was prosecuted before the Presidency Magistrate, Sixth Court at Mazgaon, Bombay, for an offence under section 142 of the Act. He was convicted by
the Magistrate and sentenced to nine months' rigorous imprisonment by a judgment dated the 8th Septem- ber 1955. The Magistrate's judgment is Exhibit F to the petition. The learned Magistrate overruled the
petitioner's contention that the order of externment passed against him was illegal, relying chiefly upon the judgments of the High Court referred to above, up- holding the constitutionality of that order. As regards
his defence that he had entered Greater Bombay in obedience to the warrant issued against him, the learned Magistrate observed that as a matter of fact, according to the statement of the petitioner's counsel
before him he had taken that step "to test the validity of the order". Secondly, the learned Magistrate has rightly pointed out that the petitioner should have obtained the previous permission of the Policp Com-
missioner before returning to Bombay, as otherwise the order of externment would be rendered nugatory. The learned Magistrate also observed in the course of his judgment that no allegations of mala ft.des had
been made against the police officers who had in- itiated the p'roceedings against the petitioner. The petitioner went up in appeal to the High Court of Bombay which by its judgment dated the 5th
October 1955 upheld the conviction and the sentence. The judgment of the High Court is Exhibit G to the petition. A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court repelled the contention on behalf of the appel-
lant that the order of externment was invalid, relying chiefly upon the previous judgment of that very court upholding the constitutionality of the very order S.C.R. impugned. Another matter referred to in the judgment
of the High Court is rather significant. On behalf of Bhagubhai the appellant reliance had been placed upon a letter Dullabhabhai alleged to have been sent to the petitioner by the
Bhandari Secretary to the Chief Minister granting permission v. to him to return to Bombay in order to see the Home Tl~• District Secretary. It was found on enquiry by the learned Mag:~~:!~.~:ana Government Pleader who intimated to the court that
the alleged letter had not been signed by the Secretary Sinha J. to the Chief Minister and that no such letter had actually been sent to him. On that statement being made, the petitioner's counsel did not press his con-
tention that his return was after permission. The petitioner moved this Court for special leave to appeal against the said judgment of the High Court in Peti- tion No. 601of1955. One of the grounds in the peti-
tion was that the High Court should have held tha-t the externment order was illegal and that therefore the petitioner's entry was lawful. A Constitution Bench of this Court by its order dated the 21st
November 1955 dismissed the petition for special leave to appeal. This completes the statement of the case made ·on behalf of the petitioner. In answer to this petition the first respondent has
sworn to the affidavit filed in this Court. It is neces- sary to state in some detail the facts stated in this affidavit which furnish the background to the whole case against the petitioner. The petitioner is said to
be a native of Balrampur, District Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. After passing his school examination in 1940, he joined the then Royal Indian Navy in 1942. In tlie year 1946 while he was attached to S.S. Talwar
in Bombay, he was "released from service". In 1947 he joined the B. B. & C. I. Railway as a clerk and was removed from his post in July 1947 for having made baseless allegations against his superior officer.
In 1949 he made an attempt to enter the police force of Greater Bombay, but that failed as he was found to be unreliable. Subsequently, in August 1950 he joined the State Transport Department as a clerk but
had again to be removed from that post in April 1951. Lat.er on, the petitioner obtained accommodation in [1956] Bombay on a false representation that he was a re- fugee from Pakistan. He was prosecuted and con·
Bhagubhai d d d fi f h Drillabhabhai victe an sentence to pay a ne o Rs. 30 or t ree Bhandari months' rigorous imprisonment in default. His appeal v. from that order of conviction and sentence to the
The District High Court of Bombay was dismissed by a Division Mag;:~·::;..~;•na Bench.in September 195~. On a similar false ~epre sentation he had bbtamed from the Custodian of Sinha}.
Evacuee Property two shops in Bombay. Necessary proceedings bad to be taken against him for evicting him from those shops. After bis removal from Gov- ernment jobs as aforesaid, the petitioner "came for-
ward" as a social worker directing his activities mainly to "the redlight district" in certain quarters of Greater Bombay inhabited by over 10,000 public women. Along with his associates he started a no-
rent campaign and resorted to violence with the help of so-called volunteers who were themselves bad cha- racters, externees, drunkards and persons with pre- vious convictions. With the help of associates like
those he moved in the "redlight district" and realised money from his victims by threat and intimidation. Thus by all questionable means the petitioner started extorting moneys by harassing the inmates of that
district and those who frequented those quarters. The rest of the Jong affidavit running into 29 paragraphs is devoted to denying the allegations made by the petitioner that he had been a victim of police combi-
nation against him or that the procedure laid down by the law had not been followed or that the peti- tioner had not a fair and full opportunity of explain- ing his case to the authorities. The affidavit further
asserts that witnesses who had given their statements to the police against the petitioner were not willing to come forward openly to depose against him and some of those witnesses who did turn up were pre-
vailed upon by the petitioner to change their original statements made during the preliminary inquiries. On those averments it was submitted by the lst respondent that the proceedings against him were
regular and in accordance with the provisions of S.C.R. the Act and that there was no merit in his con- t956 tentions. Bhagubhai These two petitions were heard along with Peti- Dullabhabhai
tion No. 272 of 1955 which is being disposed of by a Bhandaro separate judgment. In that case ~the order impugned v. had been passed under section 57 of the Act. Sections The District
56 to 59 of the Act are closely connected. The com- Magist~at;~ Thana mon arguments addressed to us by Shri Purshotham an _ 0_•rs challenging the validity of sections 56 to 59 have been
Sinha}. dealt with in that judgmeQt and need not be repeated here. It is only necessary to deal with the provisions of the section impugned in these two cases, namely, section 56 of the Act, which is in these terms:-
'1Whenever it shall appear in Greater Bombay and other areas for which a Commissioner has been appointed under section 7 to the Commissioner and in other area or areas to which the State Government
may, by notification in the Official Gazette, extend the provisions of this section to the District Magis- trate, or the Sub-Divisional Magistrate specially em- powered by the State Government in that behalf (a)
that the movements or acts of any person are causing or calculated to cause alarm, danger or harm to per- son or property, or (b) that there are reasonable grounc;ls for believing that such person is engaged or
is about to be engaged in the commission of an offence involving force or violence or an offence punishable under Chapter XII, XVI or XVII of the Indian Penal Code, or in the abetment of any such offence,
and when in the opinion of such officer witnesses are not willing to come forward to give evidence in pub- lic against such person by reason of apprehension on their parts as regards the safety of their person or
property, or (c) that an outbreak of epidemic disease is likely to result from the continued residence of an immigrant, the said officer may, by an order in writ- ing duly served on him or by beat of drum or other-
wise as he thinks fit, direct such person or immigrant so to conduct himself as shall seem necessary in order to prevent violence and alarm or the outbreak or spread of such disease or to remove himself outside
the area within the local limits of his jurisdiction by _[1956] such route and within such time as the said officer may prescribe and not to enter or return to the said Bhagubhai Dullabhabhai
area from which he was directed to remove himself". Bhandari In order to attract the operation of the section Th Dv: . quoted above with special reference to the portions Magi~ra:tr:;:an relevant to these cases, it is necessary (1) that the and others
a Commissioner, the District Magistrate or the Sub- Divisional Magistrate specially empowered by the SinhaJ. State Government in that behalf, as the case may be, should be satisfied that the movements or acts of any
person are causing or calculated to cause alarm, danger or harm to person or property, or that there are reasona hie grounds for believing that such person is engaged or is about to be engaged in the commis-
sion of an offence involving force or violence or an offence punishable under Chapter XII, XVI or XVII, Indian Penal Code, or in the abetment of any such offence, and (2) that in the opinion of such officer
witnesses are not willing to come forward to give evi- dence in public against such person by reason of apprehension on their parts as regards the safety of their person or property. When the officer concerned
is satisfied about these two essential matters, he may direct such person to remove himself outside the local limits of his jurisdiction and not to return to the said area for a period not exceeding two years as laid
down in section 58. But before passing such orders the person proceeded against under section 56 has to be given an opportunity of exP.laining matters against him by adducing such evidence as he may tender
after he has been informed in writing as to the "gen- eral nature of the material allegations against .him". Such a person is entitled to appear before the officer by an advocate or attorney for the purpose of tender-
ing his explanation and evidence. It has not been contended on behalf of the peti- tioners that they had not been given the opportunity contemplated by section 59. But grievance was sought
to be made of the fact that particulars of the evidence against the petitioners and of their alleged activities have not been given to them. That argument has S.C.R. 54-7 been dealt with in the judgment in the other case. It
is necessary therefore to deal only with the particular h Bhagubhai arguments advanced on behalf of eae petit10ner Dullabhabhai peculiar to his case. Bhandari In Petition No. 439 of 1955, it was said that this
v. Court had laid down in the case of Gurbachan Singh The Dislrict v. State of Bombay(1) as follows:- Magistrate, Th11n11 Th l . l d' d and others e aw is certam y an extraor mary one an
has been made only to meet those exceptional cases Sinha J, where no witnesses for fear of violence to their per- son or property are willing to depose publicly against certain bad characters whose presence in certain areas
constitutes a menace to the safety of the public re- siding therein". The words "no witnesses" have been emphasized as supporting the argument that unless all the witnesses before the police are unwilling to give evidence in
open court the provisions of section 56 cannot be taken.recourse to. In our opinion, it is reading too much into the observations of this Court quoted above, made by Mukherjea, J. (as he then was). The
learned Judge did not mean to lay down, and we do not understand him as having laid down, that unless each and every witness is unwilling to give evidence in open court, the provisions of section 56 are Lot
available to the police. The words of section 56 quoted above do not lend themselves to that extreme conten- tion. If such an extreme interpretation were to be put on that part of section 56, it is not difficult to
imagine a situation where it will become almost im- possible to apply that section to any case. It was next contended on behalf of the petitioner in this case that the section contemplates witnesses
other than members of the police force and employees and officers of the Customs Department. It is said that it is the duty of the police force as of the em- ployees of the Customs Department to brave all
danger and to come out in the open even against desperate criminals to give evidence against them in court and to subject themselves to cross-examination. That is a counsel of perfection which every member
(1) [1952] S.C.R. 737. [1956) of the police force or every employee of the Customs Department may not be able to act up to. Further- Bhagubhai h f h f h . Dullabhabhai more, t e terms o t e section d9 not justi y any sue
Bhandari restricted meaningbeing given to the word "witness". v. Hence, in our opinion, there is no justification for the The District contention that members of the police force and.em-
Magistratt, Thana ployees and officers of the Customs Department must andothers th d "d t Sinha J. a ways come m e open an give ev1 ence agams criminals or potential criminals. If the officer con-
cerned is satisfied that witnesses of whatever des- cription they may be, are not willing to come out in the open, one of the essential conditions of the appli- cation of section 56 is fulfilled and it is no more neces- sary for them to stop to consider as to which class of
persons those witnesses may come from. In Petition No. 440 of 1955 the learned counsel for the petitioner had a more uphill task in view of the fact that this very order impugned had been exa-
mined in the criminal prosecution against the peti- tioner by the Presidency Magistrate and by the High Court on appeal and the petition for special leave to appeal to this Court had been refused.
But it was argued on behalf of the petitioner that section 56 it- self was invalid as contravening the provisions of article 19 of the Constitution-an argument which has already been dealt with by this Court in Gurbachan
Singh v. State of Bombay(') referred to above. In that case, Mukherjea, J. (as he then was) delivered the judgment of the court after examining the constitu- tionality of section 27(1) of the City of Bombay
Police Act, (Bombay Act IV of 1902). The operative words of that section are almost exactly the same as those of section 56 of the Act. It is not therefore necessary to re-examine the constitutionality of those
very provisions in this case. It is enough to point out that no attempt was made in this Court to shake the authority of that decision. Shri Dadachanji, who appeared on behalf of the
petitioner in this case faintly suggested that the peti- tioner bad been proceeded against under the penal sec- (1) [1952] S.C.R. 737. ""'" S.C.R. tion of the Act notwithstanding the fact that he had
entered Greater Bombay in order to look after the Bhagubhat case pending against him in which a warrant of arrest Dullabhablrai had been issued. But that is a closed chapter so Bhandari
far as the courts including this Court also are con- v. cerned inasmuch as his conviction stands confirmed The District h f l f h• C t h' Magistrate Thana as a result of t e re usa o t is
?urt to gran Im and others special leave to appeal from the Judgment of the Bombay High Court. He further contended that Sinha}. his conviction for . his having entered Gre.ater Bombay itself is an indication of the unreason-
ableness of the restriction and of the law under which the order of externment had been passed against him. But if the petitioner had only taken the course indicated by the law, namely, of obtaining
the previous permission of the prescribed authority, he could have avoided the prosecution and the con- viction. It must therefore be held that there is no merit in this contention also.
For the reasons aforesaid it mu"st be held that sec- tion 56 of the Act is not unconstitutional and that the orders passed against the petitioners are not in- valid. These applications must stand dismissed.
JAGANNADHADAS J.-ln view of the decision of this Court in Gurb<ichan S~ngh v. The State of Bom- bay(1), I agree that these petitions should be dis- missed. But I think it right to add that if the matter were
res integra I should have felt difficulty in upholding the validity of section 56(b) of the Born bay Police Act, 1951 (Bombay Act XXII of 1951) in so far as it did not demarcate the application thereof to the
more serious classes of offences falling within the specified Chapters, serious either because of the nature of the offence contemplated or the circumstances under which it is to be committed and so forth. I
should also have felt difficulty in holding a provision to be reasonable which clothes the executive officers with an authority to• extern a person for so long a (1) [1962] 8.C.R. 787.
[1956] period as two years. It has been said that there is a Bhagubhal power of cancellation at any time vested in the officer Dullabhabhai co.ncerned. Even so, I should have thought that the
Bha,.dari vesting of a power to extern a person out of his home v. for so long a period without the obligation to review T.h• Dislrict the order at some stated periodical intervals, say
Magislrale, Thana once in three months or six months, is prima facie antl others unreasonable. Externment might appear on the sur- Jagannadhadas J. face not to be as serious an interference with personal liberty as detention. But in actual practice it may
be productive of more serious injury to the person concerned-or the rest of his family if he is the earn- ing member. An externed person is virtually thrown on the streets of another place where he has got to
seek his livelihood afresh. He has to start in a new society with the black-mark of externment against him and may be driven thereby to more criminality. On the other band, in the case of a person under de-
tention, the State normally takes or is bound to take care of him, and in appropriate cases provides also for his family. In view, however, of the previous decision of this Court which is binding on me, I am prepared to accept
the validity of section 56 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951, and of the orders of externment passed there- under in these two cases. Petition dismissed.