MUMBAI November 4: Detained gangster Arun Gawli's wife Asha today filed a petition challenging the constitutional validity of her husband's arrest under the recently amended Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act.

The petition, which was admitted today by Justice A P Shah and J A Patil, prayed for a court directive to scrap the new Dangerous Persons Act and the resulting detention order of Gawli. It states that the present detention has been passed after the 1996 amendment in the earlier act. According to the new act, the ground for detention is ``prevention of any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of public order''. It has also been clarified that the state government cannot detain the same person under the NSA if the new act is already invoked.

The petition also denies all charges levelled against Gawli, including the attack on Asian Age journalist Anindita Ramaswami in Dagdi Chawl. Asha stated that the chronological order of the events which was narrated by the police in the detention papers was untrue. Moreover, the statements provided to him during detention were unreadable and incomprehensible. The petition states that Gawli got no chance to put forth his side at the time of detention.

Gawli, currently in Amravati prison, was detained as per a September 18 order issued by Commissioner of Police R H Mendonca. Asha stated that the detention was ``politically motivated'' and conducted at the behest of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. ``Having failed in their attempt to curb the political activities of the Akhil Bharatiya Sena, which was to field candidates for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, they first detained him under the NSA and later the Dangerous Persons Act,'' the petition states.

Gawli was today represented by advocate P M Pradhan with S M Ghatge. Assistant government pleader Dilip Bagwe argued for the state government and police.Y

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.