Allahabad High Court Quashes Goonda Act Order, Criticizes UP Government

The Allahabad High Court has quashed an order by the Gonda district magistrate that declared a man named Zahid Ali a goonda and externed him from the district for six months. Justice Subhash Vidyarthi ruled that the Uttar Pradesh government appeared to be using the stringent Goonda Act as a tool for harassment and oppression. The court set aside both the district magistrate's order and a subsequent appellate order passed by the divisional commissioner.

The court found that the government relied on two criminal cases and a beat information report to justify the order. One of the cases dated back to 2010, but the court noted that Ali had already been acquitted in that case in 2017. The court stated that an acquittal cannot be used as a ground to declare someone a goonda. Regarding a second case from 2020, the court found no rational nexus between that event and the 2026 order, concluding that a single case does not establish that a person is a habitual offender.

Justice Vidyarthi emphasized that the Goonda Act is a powerful piece of legislation that must be invoked with great caution and used sparingly for the maintenance of public order. The court further noted that the beat information report was not a valid basis for the order because no criminal case had been registered from it and Ali had not been given a hearing. While both reports cover the legal ruling, they differ in framing. The center right source describes the court's observation as the government using the law as a tool of harassment, while the left leaning source frames the court's observation as the government using the law as a tool of oppression.