Allahabad High Court Expresses Concern Over Rampant 'Misuse' Of Goondas Act By Uttar Pradesh Govt

Under the Goondas Act, the government has the authority to oust an individual from the city as a precautionary step.

Allahabad High Court said that Uttar Pradesh government is rampantly misusing the provisions of the Goondas Act.

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government is rampantly misusing the provisions of the Goondas Act, the Allahabad High Court has noted, Bar and Bench reported on Thursday.

Under the Goondas Act, the government has the authority to oust an individual from the city as a precautionary step.

The court directed the UP government to establish uniform guidelines by October 31 to prevent any misuse of the Goondas Act, according to Bar and Bench.

The court was hearing a plea filed by a man named Govardhan, who sought quashing of a notice to him by Additional District Magistrate (Finance & Revenue), Aligarh under section 3 of the UP Control of Goondas Act, 1970. The notice was sent citing one criminal case and a beat report against him.

During the hearing, a Bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi and Justice Mohd Azhar Husain Idrisi said that the executive authorities must exercise extreme caution and thoroughly verify the individual's background before issuing notices under the Goondas Act.

The Bench stated, "This adjective 'Goonda' itself carries bundle load of bad name, and the executive authorities casually and irresponsibly brand a person as a Goonda, goes without saying, that his entire future and reputation would go to dogs and cause irreparable damage to his name and reputation of his family."

It highlighted that one or two trivial or insignificant offences would not make a person liable to be branded as a “Goonda."

"We find that this notice is nothing, but a sheer abuse of power vested in the executive authorities of the district," the judges said, according to Bar and Bench.

The state government, however, contended that there were two or three additional cases against Govardhan.

“The court cannot take the judicial notice of those additional cases,” the High Court said. “We cannot permit this hide-and-seek practice with the proposed ‘goonda’ i.e. the petitioner.”

While quashing the notice, the court concluded that it was issued without any application of mind.