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Rakesh vs. State (Govt of NCT of Delhi) & Anr.

Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8110Decided 17 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(CRL) 1617/2026CNR: DLHC010226052026
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav

Background

A man was ordered "externed" (banished) from Delhi for one year by the police, based on him having four prior cases registered against him, all under the Delhi Excise Act (illegal liquor) and the Gambling Act, with two convictions carrying only a fine. His appeal against this externment order was also rejected by the appellate authority, which cited the "gravity" of these offences and his "non-reformative attitude."

Decision Breakdown

The High Court set aside both the externment order and the appellate order. It held that externment is an extraordinary power that curtails a citizen's fundamental right to freedom of movement, and can only be used where there is real evidence that a person is "dangerous," engaged in serious violent crime, or that witnesses are too scared to testify against them. Minor, regulatory offences like illegal liquor possession or gambling do not meet this high bar, and neither authority had pointed to any actual evidence of danger, violence, or witness intimidation: they had simply relied on the existence of the cases themselves.

Lesson Learnt

The police cannot externn someone from a city merely for having a string of minor, non-violent cases against them: externment requires concrete proof that the person poses a genuine danger to public safety, not just an accumulation of petty offences.

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