In Brief
The petitioner challenged a detention order issued under the Gujarat Prevention of Anti Social Activities Act, 1985, treating him as a 'bootlegger'. The Supreme Court held that mere filing of an FIR is insufficient grounds for detention. The Court emphasized the critical distinction between 'law and order' and 'public order'—activities affecting only law and order cannot justify preventive detention. The detaining authority's reliance on formulaic language about public alarm, without substantive connection to actual activities, amounted to mere ritual. Further, execution of the order after 7 years rendered it unsustainable. The petition was allowed and the detention order quashed.
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