J.S.SEKHON, J. - (1.) THROUGH this petition for habeas corpus, the petitioner has sought quashment of the detention order dated 25-9-1989 (Annexure P/1) passed by the District Magistrate, Gurdaspur under section 3 of the National Security Act with a view to preventing him from indulging in the activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and security of state. This order was served upon the petitioner on the same day alongwith the grounds of detention.
(2.) THE relevant facts figuring in the grounds of detention read as under :- "That on 2-11-88 S.I. Gurdev Singh of P.S. City Gurdaspur apprehended you while on patrolling near cremation ground and from the Jhola which you were carrying at that time. one time bomb was recovered for which a case stands registered against you vide FIR No. 110/88 under Section 4/5 Explosive Act 5 TDA (P) Act in PS City Gurdaspur. On the same day during interrogation of this case you made a disclosure statement in the presence of Section 1. Gurdev Singh, ASI Gurbachan Singh L/C Surjit Singh and Const. Balbir Singh that on 31-5-88 you and Sohanjit Singh placed a bomb in the bucket of vegetable and kept the same in the Sabzi Mandi Dinanagar in the morning which was manufactured in the house of Kirpal Singh and Gurnam Singh of V. Gharotian with the help of Sohanjit Singh and Sukhdev Singh @ Sukha and on 31-5-88. There was bomb explosion in Dinanagar in which Rehmat Masih and Satpal were killed and some were injured for which a case was registered vide FIR No. 141/88 under sections 302/307 IPC, 415 Ex. Act 129-B IPC in PS Dinanagar Dist. Gurdaspur and you were arrested in that case and the case is pending trial. In disclosure statement dated 2-12-88 you further revealed that on 3-9-88 you and Gurdial Singh @ Diala r/o Kaler Kalan, Kanwaljit Singh @ Bahguru, Gurpal Singh r/o Kaler Kalan prepared two bombs in the houses of Jaswinder Singh r/o Qadri Mohalla, Gurdaspur and Mohinder Singh r/o Krishna Nagar, Gurdaspur and Kanwaljit Singh @ Bahguru deputed you to place one bomb and Rachhpal Singh, Jagwinder Singh and Gurpal Singh were deputed to place the other bomb. You and Gurdial Singh placed the bomb under a Rehri in Hanuman Chowk which did not explode and the other bomb you could not place. On 3-9-89, a time bomb was recovered from Hanuman Chowk regarding which a case was registered at the instance of Gurdev Singh S.I. vide FIR No 81/88 dated 3-9-82 under section 4/5 Ex. Act, 511 IPC, 3/4 TDA (P) Act P.S. City Gurdaspur and you were arrested in that case and the same is pending trial in court at Nabha. You also admitted in disclosure statement dated 2-11-88 that on 31-10-88 Kanwaljit Singh and Harjit Singh came to your shop and you and Rachhpal Singh were directed to meet them at Paniar Adda and thereafter you and Rachhpal Singh went to Paniar Adda but they did not meet you and after waiting you went at the tubewell of Gurnam Singh of village Gharotian from where Baldev Singh Dorangla Sohanjit Singh and Kashmir Singh Zaffarwal came out and you were again sent to bus adda Paniar and there Kashmir Singh and Sohanjit Singh who were holding a bag each gave you and Rachhpal Singh Rs. 400/- and told you to purchase old clothes from Gurdaspur and to put the same in the bags and asked you to meet them at bus stand Pathankot, the bags were containing one bomb each. You put the clothes in the bags and according to the programme went to bus stand Pathankot where Kanwaljit Singh @ Bahguru deputed you and Rachhpal Singh to place the bomb in Gandhi Chowk. This bomb was manufactured at the tubewell of Gurnam Singh and Kirpal Singh of village Gharotian by Sohanjit Singh etc. You and Rachhpal Singh kept the bag at the shop of Dr. Sethi and you slipped from that place and on 1-11-88 there was an explosion in Gandhi Chowk Main Bazar near the shop of Dr. Sethi and 2 ladies and two children were killed on the main road and one lady and one child was killed inside the shop and 2 compounders of Dr. Sethi namely Vidya Sagar and Kishan Chand were injured besides many other persons for which a case stands registered in PS City Pathankot vide FIR No. 220 dt. 1-11-88 under section 302/307/427 IPC, 4/5 Ex. Act, 3/4 TDA (P) Act in which you were arrested and during investigation you made a confessional statement before Sh. Iqbal Singh Pannu, S.P. (OP.) Gurdaspur on 31-11-88 and admitted the above said crimes and this case is also pending trial." In this writ petition, the main plank of the petitioner is regarding the non-application of mind to the facts and circumstances of the case by the detaining authority as the factum of the acquittal of the petitioner in the case registered against him vide FIR 110/88 P.S City Gurdaspur, was not considered by the detaining authority. It is further averred that the confessional statement of the petitioner recorded by Shri Iqbal Singh Pannu, S.P. (Operation) in FIR No. 220 dated 1-11-88 P.S. City Pathankot is on the face of it, is not believable as it was purportedly recorded on 31-11-1988, the date which does not figure in the calendar and that the detaining authority has also not applied its mind to this aspect of the matter. In the return filed by Shri S K. Bhalla. Under Secretary to Government, Punjab, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, it is maintained that the detaining, authority has passed the order of detention after due application of mind to the facts and circumstances of the case and that the acquittal of the petitioner in case FIR 110/88 is of no consequence in view of the other prejudicial activities imputed to the petitioner. It was also maintained that due to an inadvertent mistake the confessional statement had been depicted to have been recorded on 31-11-1988 although it was recorded on 21-11-1988. It was further maintained that the petitioner was bailed out in FIR No. 220 dated 1-11-88 and this fact was not considered by the detaining authority while passing the detention order.
(3.) DURING the pendency of this petition, the learned counsel for the petitioner had filed Cr M No. 135 of 1990 for placing a photostat copy of the confessional statement of the petitioner recorded by Shri I.S. Pannu, S.P. (Operation), Gurdaspur.;