Untwalia, J. - (1.) These are two writ petitions under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India by two persons who are brothers asking for writs of habeas corpus against their allegedly illegal detention made pursuant to the orders of the District Magistrate, Sikar (Rajasthan) under Section 3 (1) read with Section 3 (2) of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. 1971. Nathmal is the petitioner in Writ Petition No, 550/1974 and his brother Bhagwandas is the petitioner in the other writ petition. The facts of the two cases are common and the points involved in them are identical. They are therefore, being disposed of by a common judgment.
(2.) There does not seem to be any infirmity in the due observance of the legal formalities under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, yet, for the reasons to be stated hereinafter, the detention of the petitioners is not legal and valid. The facts necessary to be stated for disposal of the two petitions are these. From June 29. 1974 to 1st of July, 1974 shop and other premises of the petitioners were searched and large quantities of certain commodities were recovered. In the opinion of the District Magistrate it became necessary to detain the two brothers under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. He, therefore, passed separate orders against them but in identical terms on July 8, 1974 under sub cl. (iii) of cl. (a) of sub-s. (1) of S. 3. The grounds served are also identical and are as follows: "1. You are a partner of the firm M/s. Ramesh Kumar Bhagwandas in town Sikar, and you are dealing in business of essential and useful commodities for life like soaps, tea, blades, battery cells and matches. From the date 29-6-1974 to 1-7-l974, District Police, Sikar, raided and took search of your house, shop and godowns situated at Sikar and from your possession recovered 94.881 match sticks, 1,724 bathing soap cakes, 10,645 cloth washing soap cakes, 4.815 cloth washing soap bars, 10.745 blades and 2.465 battery cells. You had not displayed price list and stock position on your KAROBAR (Business) which was necessary to be displayed under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 read with the Rajasthan (Display of Prices of Essential Commodities) Order. 1966. 2. On 29th and 30th June, 1974. the Drug Inspector took search of your Godown situated at Sikar and recovered therefrom pain-relieving medicines i.e. 1301 tablets of Novalgin, 980 tablets of Saridon 620 tablets of Avedan, 900 tablets of Anolzin, 2000 tablets of Anandkar; for possessing and selling which you had not obtained a licence. You had unlawfully hoarded these pain-relieving medicines which are useful for life, for profiteering keeping in view the scarcity of these in the market. 3. You had hoarded unlawfully these essential articles useful for life in such large quantity with the intention of profiteering by selling them in the black market, so that, you may create an artificial scarcity with the object of charging any price you like from the customers. Because there is scarcity of these articles in the market at this time and the public is feeling difficulty in procuring them, and as such you have made their availability difficult for the public by hoarding them for your selfish and unlawful profiteering. 4. In this way you have created a great obstruction in the supply of essential articles useful for life to the public. Hence for the purpose of preventing you from carrying on such activities in future and for the purpose of facilitating the availability of these essential articles useful for life to the public, it has been found essential to detain you and therefore you have been detained under Section 3 (1) (a) (iii) of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. 1971. By this you are informed of the grounds of detention as required by Section 8 of the said Act."
(3.) The case of the petitioners is that the two brothers along with their father migrated to Sikar from Pakistan as refugees. They started business under the name and style of M/s. Ramesh Kumar Bhagwan Das. Their father Gopal Das started the business of selling Sweet Meats in a separate shop. The two brothers became partners of the business carried on in the name of the aforesaid firm on or from the month of January 1970. They have been carrying on the business of general merchandise. According to the petitioners' case the business was carried on in the wooden cabins (Thadies) in Jatia Bazar. Sikar, where several refugees from Pakistan started carrying on their business in wooden Thadies. It is claimed that petitioner Bhagwan Das was the President of the. Association of Thadi Merchants. It is stated that the Administrator, Municipal Council. Sikar without giving any notice to any of the holders of the shops in Thadies with the help of a large number of employees of the Municipal Council, police constables and officials removed all the Thadies by force on 28-6-1974. The petitioners' shop was removed in such a brutal and ruthless manner that all the articles of the marchandise in the shop were scattered here and there in the Bazar. They assert that they had to collect the same and shift them to their godowns, house and a shop which is said to be in occupation of their father. The Thadi-shopkeepers under the leadership of one of the petitioners carried on an agitation against the demolition of the Thadies. Meetings were held, deputations were taken to the officials and the shopkeepers went on a strike from 29th June. 1974, ln these circumstances as also on some other grounds the petitioners challenged their detention.;