- (1.) Mohinder Singh, son of Amar Singh Sodhi, of Village Rogla, Police Station Dirba, was arrested & ordered to be detained for a period ending on 31-3-1951 under Sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Preventive Detention Act by the order of the District Mag. Sangrur, dated 5-8-1950. A petn. No. 16 to this Ct. for his release Under Section 491, Code of Criminal Procedure was made by Pritam Singh & Anr. No. 17 by the detenu himself was received through Jail.
(2.) The only point argued by S. Tirath Singh, the learned Counsel for the petnr. (by which will be meant the detenu Mohinder Singh), is that the grounds of detention communicated to the detenu wore vague & indefinite & that they were not sufficient to enable the petnr. to make an effective representation to the Govt. It is, therefore, contended that further detention of the petnr. is illegal. The grounds supplied are as follows: 1. You. are an active believer in the cult of violence. You have been indulging in the propagation of class hatred & disaffection against the Govt. established by law. 2. You have been preaching the above mentioned cult of violence in the general public along with other underground communist workers namely Partap Singh 'Baghi' of village Jakhepal, Santa Singh Pandhi of Dirbha, Sahib Singh of Salana, Giani Jaswant Singh of Talwandi now at Sangrur, Kaur Singh of village Mauran, Inder Singh carpenter of village Mehlan & Bahadur Singh & Ram Singh of village Harigarh etc, in the villages of Shafipur, Dhandoli, Rogla, Bhutgarh, Jakhepal, Naraingarh, Kulburchha, Chhajli, Bigarwal, etc. Especially you have been inciting the tenants in these villages to retain forcible possession of the land belonging to the Biswedars at all coats against the provisions of law & also not to pay the due share of Batai to them. 3. The above mentioned facts are also clearly corroborated from your remaining a proclaimed offender after the issue of your detention warrants & also from the recovery of Communist literature inciting to violence from your possession at the time of your arrest. 4. Your remaining at liberty is prejudicial to the maintenance of security & public order & therefore, your detention has been ordered to ensure such security & public order.
(3.) It is stressed that none of these grounds can be regarded as a good ground under the Act & since they are not supported by particular facts or information on which the assertions are based they did not supply enough material to enable the petnr. to impress on the Govt. that the assertions were unfounded. The learned Advocate-General while conceding that ground No. 1 is rather vague & No. 4 merely reiterates the satisfaction of the detaining authority that the detention was necessary for the security of the State & maintenance of public order, contends that the other two grounds were quite precise & definite, acting on which it was within the powers of the District Mag. to order detention of the petnr.;