Patna: Patna high court on Friday imposed a cost of Rs 1.10 lakh on the state govt for illegally branding a man as an “anti-social” element under laws meant to curb crime.A division bench of justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Kumar Manish, while allowing a writ petition filed by Rajesh Kumar, directed the govt to recover the amount from erring police and district administration officials in Nalanda within six months.The bench quashed an externment order issued by the Nalanda district magistrate on March 23, terming it the result of “hasty actions”.Rajesh’s counsel, Priya Ranjan, argued that his client had been ordered to mark attendance at Silao police station despite being a resident of the Giriyak police station area.He told the court that Rajesh, a social worker and activist, had neither been convicted nor booked in any criminal case over the past five years.The court held that the arbitrary action had violated Rajesh’s fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
