HYDERABAD: Rowdy sheet cannot be opened and continued against a person by the police in a mechanical, routine and cavalier manner as it requires lot of care, caution and circumspection. Undoubtedly, the opening and continuation of rowdy sheet undermine the reputation of an individual in the eyes of the public. The court will set aside such rowdy sheet and declares it as unconstitutional if there is any deviation from strict adherence to the provision of the Police Standing Orders (PSO) No.601 which is penal in nature.
According to the PSO 601, only those persons who habitually commit, attempt to commit or abet the commission of offence involving a breach of the peace, disturbance to public order and security and those who have convicted more than once in two consecutive years may be classified as ‘rowdies’ and ‘rowdy sheets’ may be opened for them under the orders of SP / DCP and ACP / SDPO.
Even the persons who habitually tease women and girls and pass indecent remarks, and who intimidate by threats or use of physical violence or other unlawful means to part with movable or immovable properties or in the habit of collector money by extortion from shop keepers, traders and other residents and who incite and instigate communal / caste or political riots and those detained under the “AP Prevention of dangerous activities of bootleggers, dacoits, drug offenders, goondas, immoral traffic offenders and land grabbers Act, 1966” and who are convicted for offences under the Representatives of the Peoples’ Act for rigging and carrying away ballot papers, boxes and other polling material may be classified as rowdies and rowdy sheets may be opened against them.
In one of the case before the High Court, the petitioner has challenged opening of rowdy sheet against him by the police in Krishna district of AP. His counsel claimed that there are only two cases pending against the petitioner and alleged that the police have opened rowdy sheet against him at the instance of local MLA. The impugned action is highly illegal, violation of human rights and is politically motivated and opposed to the very spirit and object of the Police standing orders, he contended.
On the other hand, the government counsel for home justified the impugned action by contending that the said action is not amenable for any judicial review since there is no illegality. In view of involvement of the petitioner in various cases, the action by the police which is strictly in accordance with the PSO No.601 cannot be faulted. It has become incumbent on the part of the police to open rowdy sheet in order to keep a watch on the activities of the petitioner and to curtail the same. Out of a total of 13 cases, only three are pending regarding the unlawful activities of the petitioner, he noted.