In Brief
The appellant, a journalist and social activist, challenged an externment order that barred him from Amravati City and District for one year under the Maharashtra Police Act. The order was based on criminal cases filed against him after he made complaints to government authorities about alleged misappropriation of public funds distributed to madrasas and sought information under the Right to Information Act. The Supreme Court held that externment—a drastic curtailment of liberty—should only be used in exceptional circumstances. Finding the underlying criminal cases retaliatory and the externment patently vindictive, the Court set aside the order, reaffirming that citizens cannot be punished for exercising legitimate rights to complain about official wrongdoing.
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