In Brief
The appellant was externed (required to leave) District Jalna for two years under the Maharashtra Police Act. He challenged this order, arguing the authority relied on stale offences, lacked material proof that witnesses feared reprisal, and failed to justify the maximum two-year term. The Supreme Court held that externment is an extraordinary measure restricting fundamental rights and must be imposed sparingly in exceptional circumstances only. The order must rest on objective material showing either dangerous conduct or violence-related offences where witnesses genuinely fear safety issues. Here, the authority ignored a prior rejection of detention under similar charges, relied on old offences unconnected to the 2020 order, and failed to show witnesses unwilling to testify. The Court quashed the externment order and High Court judgment, allowing the appeal.
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