CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday ordered release of a person detained under the National Security Act (NSA) stating that there was ‘no sufficient’ ground for it.
The accused, Subhasis Khuntia, was first arrested in connection with a case registered at Madhupatna police station in Cuttack on October 2, 2019. He was forwarded on charges of extortion, criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint and was in jail custody when the Police Commissioner passed the order of his detention under NSA.
The detention under NSA was passed taking into consideration of his involvement in 19 cases. Khuntia challenged his detention which was extended by three successive orders.
The High Court took serious note of a report of the Deputy Commissioner of Police which revealed that at least three of the 19 cases had already been closed in favour of Khuntia and in rest of the cases, he is already on bail with conditions fixed by the trial court.
“There is even no material forthcoming indicating any attempt for cancellation of bail involving the petitioner in any of the pending cases. There appears, there is serious lapse on the part of law and order at least in making an endeavour to prevent such committance by the person like petitioner,” the division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Biswanath Rath observed while setting aside the detention orders.