In Brief
The State of Madhya Pradesh challenged High Court orders that set aside an Additional District Magistrate's order externing a person for one year under the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Suraksha Adhiniyam, 1990. The High Court had held that only a District Magistrate, not a subordinate officer, could pass such orders, relying on the Constitution Bench judgment Ajaib Singh v. Gurbachan Singh (1965). The Supreme Court held that the Adhiniyam, 1990 contains no such prohibition. Sections 13 and 18 explicitly permit the State Government to empower Additional District Magistrates to exercise District Magistrate powers. The Ajaib Singh judgment, which interpreted the Defence of India Act, 1962—a different statute with express rank restrictions—was inapplicable. The appeals were allowed and impugned High Court judgments set aside.
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