Allahabad High Court flags rampant misuse of Uttar Pradesh Goondas Act, orders State to frame guidelines

The Allahabad High Court has instructed the State government to establish uniform guidelines by October 31 to prevent any abuse of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970 (Goondas Act) by the authorities. [Govardhan v. State].A Bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi and Justice Mohd Azhar Husain Idrisi passed the order after noting there was rampant misuse of the Goondas Act and no uniformity in different districts when it comes to invoking the deterrent law.Such inconsistency has led to an unnecessary accumulation of cases and challenges to notices issued under this Act, the Court said."We record our strong displeasure in such type of routine pasting of such provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970 and Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 in a most capricious and casual way," the order stated..The Court underscored that every citizen has a fundamental right to live peacefully and engage in their profession. As such, the executive authorities must exercise extreme caution and thoroughly verify the individual's background before issuing notices under the Goondas Act. The order should be well-reasoned and there must be application of the authority's independent judicial mind, the Court ordered. "Hence forth it is expected from the authorities that they would necessarily spell out 'general nature of particular allegations against the proposes Goonda', his personal image among the masses his social family background and then only pass a well-reasoned order not on a prescribed proforma while issuing a show cause notice and thereafter a pass a well reasoned order of externment, (if at all required and needed).".The Bench further highlighted that one or two trivial or insignificant offences would not make a person liable to be branded as a “Goonda.""This adjective “Goonda” itself carries bundle load of bad name, and the executive authorities casually and irresponsibly brand a person as a Goonda, goes without saying, that his entire future and reputation would go to dogs and cause irreparable damage to his name and reputation of his family (sic)," it emphasised..The Court was hearing a writ petition filed by one Govardhan, who had challenged a show cause notice served to him under the UP Goondas Act. He was sent this notice citing one criminal case and a beat report against him.Even in this solitary criminal case filed against Govardhan, he had been granted anticipatory bail until the conclusion of the trial, the Court noted. It remarked that such an indiscreet exercise of the Goondas Act, on the basis of a solitary criminal case on the sweet will of the authorities can become quite irritating."We find that this notice is nothing, but a sheer abuse of power vested in the executive authorities of the district," the Court held..During the hearing, the government advocate told the Court that there were two or three additional cases against Govardhan. The judges, however, were prompt to reject this contention. "All of a sudden learned A.G.A. woke up and revealed that in addition to two cases mentioned in impugned notices, the petitioner has got two more cases. The Court cannot take the judicial notice of those additional cases; we cannot permit this hide and seek practice with the proposed “Goonda” i.e. the petitioner.".The Court concluded that the notice was issued without any application of mind and quashed the same.It further directed the State to establish consistent guidelines for the application of the Goondas Act by October 31..Advocates Akhilesh Srivastava and Saksham Srivastava represented the petitioner, Govardhan..[Read Order]