Karnataka High Court
Sri. M. Ganesh Reddy vs The State Of Karnataka on 9 January, 2024
Author: M.Nagaprasanna
Bench: M.Nagaprasanna
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NC: 2024:KHC:1001
WP No. 12669 of 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
DATED THIS THE 9TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2024
BEFORE
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA
WRIT PETITION NO. 12669 OF 2023 (GM-POLICE)
BETWEEN:
SRI. M. GANESH REDDY
S/O. SRI.LATE.D.MUNISWAMY REDDY,
AGED ABOUT 29 YEARS,
R/O. NO.28, GANESHA NILAYA,
13TH MAIN, KAGGADASAPURA,
C.V. RAMAN NAGAR POST,
BENGALURU-560093.
...PETITIONER
(BY SRI. SUMANTH L BHARADWAJ, ADVOCATE)
AND:
1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA
Digitally signed by
PADMAVATHI B K HOME DEPARTMENT,
Location: HIGH REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY,
COURT OF VIDHANA SOUDHA,
KARNATAKA AMBEDKAR VEEDHI,
BENGALURU-560001.
2. THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE,
INFANTRY ROAD,
BENGALURU-560001
3. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
EAST DIVISION, ULSOOR MAIN ROAD,
ULSOOR,
BENGALURU-560008.
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WP No. 12669 of 2023
4. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
ULSOOR MAIN ROAD, ULSOOR,
BENGALURU-560008.
5. THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE
BYAPPANAHALLI POLICE STATION,
BYAPPANAHALLI,
BENGALURU-560093
...RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. MANJUNATH K., HCGP)
THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF
THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASH THE
ENDORSEMENT/ORDER DTD 15.09.2022 BEARING NO.
T2/PS/PETITION/155 AND 156/2022 THAT PASSED BY THE R-
5 HEREIN A COPY OF THE SAID ENDORSEMENT /ORDER IS
HEREWITH SUBMITTED AS ANNX-A; DIRECTING THE
RESPONDENT TO DELETE/REMOVE THE NAME OF THE
PETITIONER FORM THE ROWDY LIST MAINTAINED IN THE R-5
POLICE STATION.
THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY
HEARING, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
ORDER
The petitioner is before this Court seeking the following
prayer:
"1. ISSUE a writ of Certiorari to quash the
Endorsement/Order dated 15/09/2022 bearing
No.T2/PS/Petition/155 & 156/2022 that
passed by the Respondent No.5 herein. A
copy of the said Endorsement/Order is
herewith submitted as Annexures-A;
2. and issue a writ of Mandamus there by
directing the Respondents to delete/remove
NC: 2024:KHC:1001
the name of the Petitioner from the rowdy list
maintained in the Respondent No.5 police
station, in the interest of justice and equity.
3. Any other relief which is deemed fit in the
facts and circumstances of the case and in the
interest of justice and equity."
2. The prayer of the petitioner is for quashment of an
order dated 15.09.2022 and a consequential direction to delete
the name of the petitioner from the list of rowdies drawn before
the fifth respondent - Police Station.
3. Heard the learned counsel Sri.Sumanth L.
Bharadwaj, appearing for the petitioner and the learned HCGP
Sri.Manjunath K., appearing for the respondents.
4. The petitioner was before this Court in
W.P.No.12858/2021 seeking a direction at the hands of this
Court for removal of his name from the list of rowdies. The
said writ petition comes to be disposed by an order dated
16.08.2021, which reads as follows:
" 3. Shri Vinod Kumar submitted that a
procedure has been laid down by the State
Government vide Order No.1059 of Karnataka
Police Manual, authorizing the Deputy
Commissioner of Police or Superintendent of
NC: 2024:KHC:1001
Police of concerned District to consider such
grievance and to pass appropriate orders either to
continue or to remove the name in the rowdy list.
He submitted that, if an application is filed by the
petitioner, the appropriate authority, namely, the
Superintendent of Police shall consider the same
and pass orders.
4. Learned Advocate for petitioner seeks
two weeks' time to file an application.
5. In view of the above submissions,
this petition is
disposed of. If petitioner files an application
before the appropriate Authority, namely
Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru, within four
weeks from today, the concerned Authority shall
consider the same and pass a speaking order
within eight weeks from the date of receipt of
such application.
No costs. "
5. The petitioner represents before the Deputy
Commissioner of Police seeking removal of his name from the
list of rowdies. The representation results in an endorsement
on 04.10.2021. The endorsement reads as follows:
" "»A§gÀº"À
DzÀ ¤ªÀÄUÉ F ªÀÄÆ®PÀ w½AiÀÄ¥Àr¸ÀĪÀÅzÉãÉAzÀgÉ ¤ÃªÀÅ WÀ£À PÀ£ÁðlPÀ GZÀÒ
£ÁåAiÀiÁ®AiÀÄ ªÀÄvÀÄÛ r.¹.¦ ¥ÀƪÀð gÀªÀgÀ PÀbÉÃjAiÀÄ°è vÀªÀÄä ªÉÄÃ¯É ¨ÉÊAiÀÄ¥Àà£ÀºÀ½î
¥ÉưøïoÁuÉAiÀÄ°è vÉj¢gÀĪÀ gËr ²Ãlgï C£ÀÄß ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄ ªÀiÁqÀ®Ä PÉÆÃj ¸À°è¹gÀĪÀ
CfðAiÀÄ£ÀÄß ¥Àj²Ã°¹ ¤ªÀÄä ªÉÄÃ¯É zÁR¯ÁVgÀĪÀ ¥ÀæPÀgÀtUÀ¼ÀÄ ¸ÀAeÉÕÃAiÀÄ
¥ÀæPÀgÀtUÀ¼ÁVzÀÄÝ ¸ÀzÀj gËr ²Ãlgï C£ÀÄß ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄ ªÀiÁqÀ®Ä
NC: 2024:KHC:1001
DzÁgÀgÀ»vÀªÁVgÀĪÀÅzÀjAzÀ gËr ²Ãlgï ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄ ªÀiÁqÀ®Ä ¸ÁzsÀåªÁVgÀĪÀÅ¢®è JAzÀÄ
»A§gÀºÀªÀ£ÀÄß ¤Ãr ¸ÀzÀj CfðAiÀÄ «ZÁgÀuÉAiÀÄ£ÀÄß ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄ ªÀiÁrgÀÄvÉÛ."
6. The petitioner along with other calls the said
endorsement in question before this Court in
W.P.No.23902/2021. All the petitions were taken up together
and the co-ordinate Bench disposed the same in terms of the
judgment dated 22.04.2022 laying down certain guidelines for
inclusion and removal of the names of the persons from the list
of rowdies in the Police station. The guidelines read as follows:
GUIDELINES FOR ROWDY/HISTORY SHEETING:
i. Before entering the name of an individual to
the Register of Rowdies, the jurisdictional
police shall collect and collate the material
information concerning him and frame the
proposal for registration on that basis.
ii. A brief proposal notice shall be sent to the
individual concerned in a sealed cover with
an option to submit his representation within
two weeks as to why his name should not be
registered as a rowdy. However, there is no
need to afford a personal hearing. In
exceptional cases notice may be dispensed
with for reasons to be recorded in the
Register of Rowdies.
NC: 2024:KHC:1001
iii. In terms of Clause (5), Order 1059 of the
Manual, the Superintendent of Police or the
Sub - Divisional Police Officer shall not
accord approval for entering the name of
individual concerned to the Register of
Rowdies without calling for records and
objectively considering the same. He shall
briefly record his reasons for according the
approval and mark a copy thereof to the
individual forthwith, with a mention that he
may petition the Police Complaints Authority,
against the same.
iv. The jurisdictional Police shall compulsorily
once in two years, undertake a periodic
review of entries in the Register of Rowdies
suo motu, as provided under Clause(2),
Order 1057 of the Manual. However, it is
open to the aggrieved, to make a
representation at any time after one year of
registration, seeking deletion of name from
the Rowdy Register on the basis of changed
circumstances such as rectitude, good
conduct, social/community service, etc.57
v. The representation for review shall be
considered by the jurisdictional Police at the
initial level within a period of30 days, during
which necessary inputs may be obtained
through the available sources as to merits of
the claim. The recommendation shall be sent
to the jurisdictional Superintendent of Police
or the Sub - Divisional Police Officer, within
15 days along with the representation &the
material collected thereon. Such
recommendation along with the result of
consideration of the representation shall be
communicated to the individual concerned
within next 15 days.
NC: 2024:KHC:1001
vi. Any individual aggrieved by the rejection of
his representation or continuation of his
name in the Register may petition to the
Police Complaints Authority ordinarily within
30 days. However, no personal hearing shall
avail. The petition shall be disposed off by
recording reasons within an outer limit of 60
days, after considering the material on record
or the fresh inputs that may be requisitioned,
by the authority.
vii. The entire process of Rowdy/History Sheeting
from the stage of issuance of proposal notice
as specified above, up to the issuance of the
orders on the petition if any to the Police
Complaints Authority, shall be done only in a
sealed cover procedure and that nothing
therein shall be disclosed nor made available
to anyone, except to the aggrieved, nor any
Right To Information (RTI) application shall
be entertained in this regard.
viii. The violation of these guidelines shall
constitute a major misconduct and an
adverse entry on proof thereof shall be made
by the Disciplinary Authority in the Service
Register of the erring official after hearing
him and a copy thereof shall be marked to
the victim of Rowdy Register/History Sheet,
without brooking any delay.
ix. Whatever guidelines herein above laid down
shall be applicable to the case of History
Sheeters as well, mutatis mutandis and
subject to the provisions of Karnataka Police
Manual, 1965."
NC: 2024:KHC:1001
7. The petitioner again represented on 11.08.2022 to
remove his name from the list of rowdies following the
guidelines so laid down by the co-ordinate Bench of this Court.
The result of the representation is the impugned endorsement.
The impugned endorsement reads as follows:
" "»A§gÀºÀ"
F ªÀÄÆ®PÀ ¤ªÀÄUÉ w½AiÀÄ¥Àr¸ÀĪÀÅzÉãÉAzÀgÉ ¤ÃªÀÅ WÀ£À PÀ£ÁðlPÀ
GZÀÒ £ÁåAiÀiÁ®AiÀÄzÀ qÀ§Æèöå.¦.£ÀA.12858/2021 ªÀÄvÀÄÛ
qÀ§Æèöå.¦.£ÀA.23902/2021 ºÁUÀÆ ªÀiÁ£Àå G¥À ¥Éưøï DAiÀÄÄPÀÛgÀ,
¥ÀƪÀ𠫨sÁUÀ ¨ÉAUÀ¼ÀÆgÀÄ £ÀUÀgÀ gÀªÀgÀ°è, ¨ÉÊAiÀÄ¥Àà£ÀºÀ½î ¥Éưøï
oÁuÉAiÀÄ°è vÉgÉzÀÄ ¤ªÀðºÀuÉ ªÀiÁqÀÄwÛgÀĪÀ ¤ªÀÄä gËr ºÁ¼ÉAiÀÄ£ÀÄß
ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄUÉƽ¸À®Ä PÉÆÃjgÀÄwÛÃj, ¤ÃªÀÅ C¥ÀgÁ¢üPÀ PÀÈvÀåUÀ¼À°è
¨ÁVAiÀiÁVzÀÝjAzÀ ¤ªÀiï «gÀÄzÀÝ gËr ºÁ¼ÉAiÀÄ£Àß vÉgÉzÀÄ ¤ªÀðºÀuÉ
ªÀiÁqÀ¯ÁVzÀÄÝ F «µÀAiÀÄ ¤ªÀÄUÉ w½¢zÀÝgÀÆ ¸ÀºÀ ¤ªÀÄä ªÀvÀð£ÉAiÀÄ°è
§zÀ¯ÁªÀuÉ ªÀiÁrPÉƼÀîzÉ ¥ÀÄ£À: ¤ÃªÀÅ 03 ¸ÀAeÉÕÃAiÀÄ ¥ÀæPÀgÀtUÀ¼À°è
¨sÁVAiÀiÁVzÀÄÝ, ¤ªÀÄä «gÀÄzÀÝ zÀÆgÀÄ zÁR¯ÁVzÀÄÝ, EªÀÅUÀ¼À°è E£ÀÆß MAzÀÄ
¥ÀæPÀgÀtªÀÅ WÀ£À £ÁåAiÀiÁ®AiÀÄzÀ°è «ZÁgÀuÉAiÀÄ°ègÀÄvÀÛzÉ. ºÁUÀÆ UÀÄ¥ÀÛ
ªÀiÁ»wAiÀÄAvÉ ¤ÃªÀÅ ¸ÁªÀðd¤PÀjUÉ ¨ÉzÀjPÉ ºÁPÀĪÀÅzÀÄ ¸ÉÃjzÀAvÉ ¥ÀzÉÃ-
¥ÀzÉà PÁ£ÀÆ£ÀÄ ¨Á»gÀ ZÀlĪÀnPÉUÀ¼À°è ¨sÁVAiÀiÁUÀÄwÛgÀĪÀÅzÀÄ, ºÁUÀÆ F
§UÉÎ ¸ÁªÀðd¤PÀgÀÄ ¨sÀAiÀÄUÉÆAqÀÄ ¤ªÀÄä «gÀÄzÀÝ AiÀiÁgÀÆ ¤ÃqÀ®Ä
ªÀÄÄAzɧgÉzÉà EgÀĪÀÅzÀÄ PÀAqÀħA¢gÀÄvÀÛzÉ. ¤ÃªÀÅ gËr ºÁ¼ÉAiÀÄ£ÀÄß
ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄ ªÀiÁqÀ®Ä PÉÆÃjgÀĪÀ «µÀAiÀĪÀÅ DzsÁgÀgÀ»vÀªÁVgÀÄvÀÛzÉ,
DzÀÄÝzÀjAzÀ ¤ªÀÄä gËr ºÁ¼ÉAiÀÄ£ÀÄß ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄ ªÀiÁqÀ®Ä
¸ÁzsÀåªÁUÀĪÀÅ¢®èªÉAzÀÄ »A§gÀºÀªÀ£ÀÄß ¤Ãr ¤ªÀÄä Cfð «ZÁgÀuÉAiÀÄ£ÀÄß
ªÀÄÄPÁÛAiÀÄUÉƽ¸À¯ÁVzÉ."
8. The endorsement depicts that three cases against
the petitioner are pending consideration before the concerned
Courts and certain investigation reveals that the petitioner is in
the habit of threatening others. The same endorsement was
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issued earlier except the statement that there are three cases
pending.
9. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that not
even a single case is pending against the petitioner and he has
been acquitted in all the cases.
10. The State has filed its objections to the claim of the
petitioner, wherein it is admitted that there are no cases
pending against the petitioner. The admission would
undoubtedly become contrary to the endorsement so issued
declining the prayer of the petitioner to remove the name from
the list of rowdies. Therefore, the endorsement on the face of it
is unsustainable, as it runs counter to the order passed by this
Court (Supra) in the form of guidelines. The petition thus
deserves to succeed.
11. For the aforesaid reasons, the following:
ORDER
i) The writ petition is allowed.
ii) The Endorsement dated 15.09.2022 stands
quashed.
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iii) The Deputy Commissioner of
Police - respondent No.3 shall pass
appropriate orders, within a period of four
weeks, bearing in mind the observations
made in the course of the order.
iv) The Deputy Commissioner of Police shall
pass orders upon the representations made
by the petitioner seeking deletion of his
name from the list of rowdies strictly in
consonance with law, bearing in mind the
observations made in the course of the order
and not again drive the petitioner to this
Court on the same score.
Sd/-
JUDGE
KG
