High Court imposes 30 thousand damages on Principal Secretary Home

PRAYAGRAJ: Allahabad High Court has imposed a compensation of thirty thousand rupees on the Principal Secretary Home for issuing Goonda Act notice against three people of the same family on the basis of a criminal case registered over family and business disputes. The compensation amount will have to be paid by the petitioners within two weeks.

This order was passed by the division bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Surendra Singh (I) while accepting the petition filed by the petitioner Rakesh Verma and others challenging the validity of the notice issued by the District Magistrate Firozabad under the Goonda Act.

The petitioners Rakesh Verma and Rajesh Verma are real brothers while the third petitioner is Sonu alias Abhishek, son of Rakesh Verma. A two-pronged case was registered against them for mutual assault arising out of a dispute over ancestral property, while the second case was registered against them regarding business transactions and the third beat police report was lodged at the local police station.

On the basis of these three cases, on December 8, 2023, the District Magistrate Firozabad had issued a notice initiating proceedings against the three family members under the Goonda Act. Against which the petitioners had approached the High Court.
Petitioner’s council  argued that action under the Goonda Act is taken against those habitual criminals who become a threat to public peace. The present cases relate to personal disputes.
The court canceled the notice issued by District Magistrate Firozabad under the Goonda Act and imposed a compensation of thirty thousand rupees on the Principal Secretary Home. The court has directed the Registrar of the High Court to send a copy of the order to the Principal Secretary Home and District Magistrate Firozabad within a week for compliance with the order.