Mumbai: The Bombay high court has quashed a detention order against a pregnant woman under Maharashtra (Prevention of Dangerous Activities) Act observing that normal laws were sufficient to curb her alleged bootlegging activities.Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ranjitsinha Bhosale on September 3 directed her “to be released forthwith if not required in any other case”.The woman challenged Pune commissioner of police’s June 30 detention order classifying her as a bootlegger and for detention in Kolhapur Central Prison. Her advocate, Harshvardhan Suryavanshi, said that as she is four months pregnant, there is no further necessity of her detention. Prosecutor Mankunwar Deshmukh said the state restricted the detention period to nine months and she would be taken care of.The HC noted that out of 11 offences under Maharashtra Prohibition Act from July 2023 to Feb 25, the woman was arrested in one offence. In ten others, she was served notices.The judges said the detention order was based on one registered offence in which she was issued notice and two in-camera statements of witnesses which would attract the definition of “dangerous person’ and not ‘bootlegger’ under MPDA Act.They noted the woman had executed a Rs 50,000 bond for good behaviour in May 2025 valid till May 2027. But as she had committed the registered offence, to initiate more effective action, on June 30 the detention order was passed.The Pune commissioner of police said normal laws were not sufficient to curb her bootlegging activities and it was necessary to detain her under MPDA Act. The judges said “this observation is incorrect” because normal laws empower police officers to cancel the bond and take her into custody immediately. “The police did not refer to this power…therefore it cannot be said that normal laws of the land were insufficient to curb her activities.”
