The Madhya Pradesh High Court's division bench has imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on Shahdol Collector Kedar Singh in connection with wrongful action taken under the National Security Act (NSA).
While ordering him to be present at the next hearing, the HC also issued a contempt notice to Singh and said he would have to pay the fine from his own pocket. The division bench ordered the amount to be deposited in the account of the petitioner's son.
The HC also ordered the state chief secretary to take action against the collector and the additional chief secretary.
A division bench of High Court Justice Vivek Agrawal and Justice AK Singh issued orders in this regard while hearing a petition filed by Shahdol farmer Hiramani Vaishya, who had claimed that NSA action against his son Sushant Vaishya was taken without following due process of law.
In his petition, Hiramani claimed the Superintendent of Police had sent a report to the District Collector on September 6 this year requesting NSA action, and the Collector passed the NSA order on September 9 without recording the statement of any independent witness.
He also said in the petition that the criminal case for which his son was booked under the NSA had already been settled through a Lok Adalat.
The petition alleged that the Superintendent of Police had recommended NSA against one Neeraj Kant Dwivedi. However, Collector Singh, instead, ordered NSA against Sushant Vaishya, leading to him spending 14 months in jail.
During the hearing, Collector Singh admitted the NSA order mistakenly mentioned Sushant Vaishya's name instead of Neeraj Kant Dwivedi.
His lawyer argued that the cases of Neeraj Kant Dwivedi and Sushant Vaishya were heard together, and the factual error took place because of this.
In its order, the HC division bench directed the District Collector to present the file sent to the state government for approval of the NSA action and said that if this was not done, the state should take action against him.
An affidavit filed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) said the NSA order was sent to the state government for approval, but due to a typing error, Sushant's name was mentioned in place of Neeraj Kant Dwivedi in the order. The affidavit said a notice has been issued to the clerk seeking a response.
Expressing displeasure, the HC said NSA cannot be used as a tool and is only used when a person creates fear in society and among the public.
The court also directed the Chief Secretary to review the NSA order and take action against the Collector and Additional Chief Secretary.
The court also issued notices initiating contempt proceedings against the Collector for submitting a false affidavit.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
