UKHC010026482019 2026:UHC:5057 SL. No. Date Office Notes, reports, orders or proceedings or directions and Registrar’s order with Signatures COURT’S OR JUDGE’S ORDERS WPCRL/332/2019 Jeevan Singh Khetwal ….…Petitioner Versus State Of Uttarakhand …...Respondent Hon’ble Alok Mahra, J. Mr. M.S. Pal, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. Vikrmaditya Sah, learned counsel for the petitioner. 2. Mr. Dinesh Chauhan, learned A.G.A. along with Mr. Jai Prakash Kandpal, learned Brief Holder for the State. 3. By means of the present writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the notice/show-cause order dated 18.02.2019 issued under Section 3(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970. 4. Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is aggrieved by the impugned notice dated 18.02.2019 whereby he has been called upon to show cause as to why proceedings under Section 3(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970 should not be initiated against him and why he UKHC010026482019 2026:UHC:5057 should not be externed from the district on the ground that he is allegedly prejudicial to the maintenance of public order; that, the impugned notice has been founded upon four criminal cases mentioned therein. 5. Learned Senior Counsel would further submit that in Case Crime No. 179 of 2005 and Case Crime No. 902 of 2010, the petitioner has already been acquitted; that, so far as Case Crime No. 33 of 2018 and Case Crime No. 01 of 2019 are concerned, the same were merely pending on the date of issuance of the notice and the petitioner had already obtained interim protection from this Court in those matters, therefore, initiation of proceedings under Section 3(1) of the Act is contrary to the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970 and is violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. 6. It is further submitted that the allegation in the impugned notice that the petitioner is involved in anti-social activities and earns money by indulging in such activities is wholly baseless. Learned Senior Counsel submits that the petitioner was an elected member of the Block Development Committee (BDC), is carrying on a lawful business, regularly pays income tax and other statutory dues, and has been actively engaged in social and political activities UKHC010026482019 2026:UHC:5057 in Tehsil and District Bageshwar; that, the petitioner has been issued a character certificate by the Sub- Divisional Magistrate, Bageshwar, on the recommendation of respondent nos. 2 and 3, and has also been granted a solvency certificate by the competent authority. 7. Learned Senior Counsel also submits that the petitioner is a reputed businessman and that the impugned notice has been issued on account of extraneous considerations; that, while entertaining the present writ petition, a Coordinate Bench of this Court, by order dated 26.02.2019, granted interim protection to the petitioner. It is further submitted that even in the two cases which were pending on the date of issuance of the impugned notice, the petitioner has subsequently been acquitted, therefore, none of the criminal cases forming the basis of the notice dated 18.02.2019 survives, and therefore, the impugned notice is liable to be quashed. 8. Learned State Counsel would vehemently oppose the submissions advanced on behalf of the petitioner, however, he does not dispute the fact that all the criminal cases on the basis of which the impugned notice dated 18.02.2019 was issued no longer survive against the petitioner. 9. Having heard learned counsel for UKHC010026482019 2026:UHC:5057 the parties and upon perusal of the material brought on record, this Court finds that the proceedings under Section 3(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970 were initiated solely on the basis of the four criminal cases referred to in the impugned notice. Admittedly, the petitioner has been acquitted in all the said cases and, therefore, the very foundation of the impugned proceedings has ceased to exist. In such circumstances, continuation of the proceedings under the Act would be wholly unjustified and unsustainable in law. 10. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed. The notice/show-cause order dated 18.02.2019 issued under Section 3(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970 is hereby quashed. 11. Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of. (Alok Mahra, J.) 18.06.2026 Mamta MA MTA RANI Digitally signed by MAMTA RANI DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=6a812005bebfcf46f 244f3e584af1449e430ef900 bf09a6d67ebbd642671329b , postalCode=263001, st=Uttarakhand, serialNumber=5de1751a4f1 d9cabfd54852c9e68911ca8 b66dd26690a191648ab5d8 dd004ef0, cn=MAMTA RANI Date: 2026.06.19 11:09:22 +05'30'