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Karnataka HC quashes police externment order against man
The Karnataka high court quashed an externment order against a person for committing the same crime thrice, stating that such powers must be used sparingly.
The Karnataka high court recently quashed an externment order by the police against a person for committing the same crime thrice between 2015 and 2022 and asked the police to use its power to extern a person “sparingly” as curtails one’s freedom enshrined under Constitution.
In his order, Justice M Nagaprasanna observed, “If the order is read on the bedrock of the offences and the statute, it would become a classic case of misuse of power for curtailment of fundamental right of a person.”
The court noted that when a person is externed, their fundamental rights are infringed upon, Bar and Bench, an online news portal reported.
The court said that such power to curtail these rights must be exercised sparingly and in exceptional circumstances. This is because Article 19(1)(d) of the Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of movement, the court added.
The court was hearing a plea by a man embroiled in three crimes, all under Section 78(3) (gambling in public) of the Karnataka Police Act. The cases, initiated in 2015, 2021 and 2022, were all closed after the imposition of a fine.
A report against the petitioner recommending his externment from Bailhongal to any other place was generated by the assistant commissioner on July 28, 2023 and he was sent a show cause notice.
The petitioner appeared before the assistant commissioner and put up his defence. The police externed the petitioner from Bailhongal sub-division to Bagalkot district for a period of three months. The order was challenged before the high court by the petitioner.
He argued that his fundamental right was compromised by citing offences that were non-cognizable and closed after the imposition of fines. As such, he contended that the order of externment was a gross misuse of power.
On the other hand, the State defended the action by contending that the petitioner had become dangerous to society. The due procedure was followed before the externment order was passed, the police told the court.
The court noted that under Section 56(g) of the Karnataka Police Act, an order for externment can be passed if one gets involved in offences under Sections 78, 79 and 80, but the crime has to be committed three times in three years. This was not the situation in this case, the court said.
Therefore, the judge held that the order would not stand the test of reasonableness as required under Article 19(5) of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, the court allowed the writ petition and quashed the externment order as unsustainable.
