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Jharkhand high court quizzes state govt on Hindu religious leader’s detention order
The advocate stated that the court passed the order on December 23 after Singh filed a writ petition seeking to quash Ranchi deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri’s order declaring him an “antisocial element” and putting him under preventive detention in terms of section 12(ii) of the Jharkhand Crime Control Act, 2002.
The Jharkhand high court has directed the state government to file an affidavit explaining the circumstances under which a Hindu religious leader, Bhairav Singh, was put under preventive detention twice for the same offence, an advocate familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The advocate stated that the court passed the order on December 23 after Singh filed a writ petition seeking to quash Ranchi deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri’s order declaring him an “antisocial element” and putting him under preventive detention in terms of section 12(ii) of the Jharkhand Crime Control Act, 2002.
“A division bench of justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Sanjay Prasad passed the order on December 23 after it was submitted before the court on behalf of the petitioner that the Ranchi DC had passed an order on November 5, 2024, in C.C.A. case No. 74 of 2024 prohibiting him from entering the Ranchi district. Then again, for the same set of offences, he passed another order on December 1, 2025, declaring him an antisocial element and putting him under preventive detention in terms of Section 12(ii) of the Jharkhand Crime Control Act, 2002,” the advocate said.
Singh’s advocate, Abhay Mishra, confirmed the matter, saying the case is again listed for hearing on January 7.
The high court order, a copy of which is available with Hindustan Times, stated that the court gave the direction on the prayer of the state to file an affidavit in the matter after the petitioner levelled allegations against the Ranchi DC.
“Ashutosh Anand, learned AAG-III, has submitted that he will seek instructions and file an affidavit, and for the aforesaid purpose, he has prayed to list this matter on January 7, 2026. Let the matter be listed on January 7, 2026, under the same heading. By that time, the counter-affidavit will be filed, taking into consideration the issue involved in this case regarding preventive detention of the writ petitioner,” the order read.
The order suggested that the petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution for quashing the deputy commissioner’s order.
“The instant writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing the order dated December 1, 2025, passed by the deputy commissioner-cum-district magistrate, Ranchi, whereby the petitioner has been declared an antisocial element and put under preventive detention in terms of Section 12(ii) of the Jharkhand Crime Control Act, 2002. The ground taken is that for the same set of offences, the deputy commissioner-cum-district magistrate, Ranchi, had passed an order on November 5, 2024, in C.C.A. Case No. 74 of 2024, prohibiting the writ petitioner from entering the Ranchi district,” the court observed.
The order copy suggested that the petition was moved after it was realised that the DC’s December 1, 2025, order was passed without “application of mind” and that the petitioner’s representation in this connection to the detaining authority remained unresponded to. Apart from this, the petitioner observed that action was taken against him for chanting a religious slogan and joining a procession of his own community, the court stated.
“It has been contended that (i) after the lapse of the period, he returned to Ranchi, and thereafter, no further activity has been reported; however, two cases were reported while the writ petitioner was in custody; (ii) the writ petitioner has been enlarged on bail in all the cases and acquitted in one case; and (iii) the state has not preferred any application for cancellation of his bail. The learned counsel has further submitted that the impugned order, therefore, is without any application of mind, and all these aspects of the matter have been brought to the notice of the detaining authority by filing a detailed representation, but no decision has been communicated regarding the outcome of the said representation,” the order read.
“It has also been submitted that if all the allegations are taken into consideration, as noted in the impugned order passed by the deputy commissioner, Ranchi, and appended in Annexure-4, the same do not disclose any crime of a grievous nature. Rather, all the allegations pertain to the fact that, by chanting a religious slogan, he had joined a procession of his own community without causing any anti-national activity,” the order added.
Bhairav Singh, a local Hindu leader in Jharkhand, has been involved in multiple legal cases over the past several years.
Most recently, he was arrested on July 19, 2025, by Chutia police in connection with an assault related to a parking contract dispute. The case was filed on May 25 by a local, Aman Chandra, through a first information report (FIR). The Jharkhand high court granted Singh bail on November 6.
He has claimed that his arrests are politically motivated, asserting that they are due to his efforts to “raise a voice for Hindu interests”, a claim that has been echoed by some of his supporters and media outlets.
