Mohammad Sarfraj Bhauddin Khawaja v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors.

CORAM : ASHWIN D. BHOBE, J. DATE : 18th August, 2026.

Heard Mr. Anil Patil, learned Advocate for the Petitioner and Mrs. Shubhangi Deshmukh, learned APP for the Respondent – State.

By this Petition, the Petitioner has sought the following substantive relief:

(A) By way of writ of certiorari or writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ like in nature under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash and set aside the administrative order dated 25.05.2026 passed by the Sub Divisional Magistrate sawantwadi, by which the Externment of the Petitioner be quashed.

Vaibhav 1 49 - CR WP - 649 - 2026.doc

Mrs. Shubhangi N. Deshmukh, learned APP for the State, relying on the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Godrej Sara Lee Ltd. v. Excise & Taxation Officer1 raises a preliminary objection to the maintainability of this petition on the ground that the Petitioner has an alternative statutory remedy against the impugned order under Section 60 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.

Section 60 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 reads thus:

60. Appeal [(1)] Any person aggrieved by an order made under section 55, [56, 57 or 57A] may appeal to the State Government [or to such Officer as the State Government may by order specify (hereinafter referred to as "the specified officer")] within thirty days from the date of such order. [(2) An appeal under this section shall be preferred in duplicate in the form of a memorandum, setting forth concisely the grounds of objection to the order appealed against, and shall be accompanied by that order of a certified copy thereof. (3) On receipt of such appeal the State Government [or the specified Officer] may, after giving a reasonable opportunity to the appellant to be heard either personally, or by a pleader, advocate or attorney and after such further inquiry, if any, as it may deem necessary, confirm, vary or cancel, or set 1(2023) SCC OnLine SC 95 Vaibhav 2 49 - CR WP - 649 - 2026.doc aside the order appealed against, [or remand the case for disposal with such directions as it or he thinks fit, and make its or his order] accordingly : Provided that, the order appealed against shall remain in force pending the disposal of the appeal, unless the State Government [or the specified Officer] otherwise directs. [Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub- section the power to vary the order appealed against shall include, and shall be deemed always to have included, the power to hold such order in abeyance and to make conditional order permitting the person to enter or return to the area or such areas and any contiguous districts or part thereof, or to the specified area or areas, as the case may be, from which he was directed to remove himself.] (4) In calculating the period of thirty days provided for an appeal under this section, the time taken for granting a certified copy of the order appealed against shall be excluded.]

Faced with the objection raised by Mrs. Shubhangi N. Deshmukh, learned APP, regarding the availability of an alternative statutory remedy, Mr. Anil Patil, learned Advocate for the Petitioner, fairly states that the impugned order dated 25th May 2026 passed by the Sub- Divisional Magistrate, Sawantwadi, is appealable under Section 60 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. Vaibhav 3 49 - CR WP - 649 - 2026.doc

Mr. Anil Patil, learned Advocate for the Petitioner on instructions from the Petitioner, seeks leave to withdraw this Petition, with liberty to file an Appeal before the Appellate Authority under Section 60 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. He, however, submits that the Petitioner was pursuing this Petition bona fide and in good faith and therefore requests that the period spent in pursuing this Petition be excluded, as an Appeal under Section 60 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, is required to be filed within 30 days from the receipt of the order. He states that the Appeal against the impugned order shall be filed within two weeks from today.

Mrs. Shubhangi N. Deshmukh, learned APP for the State, in all fairness, submits that if an Appeal against the impugned order dated 25th May 2026 is filed by the Petitioner within two weeks from today, the Respondents-State shall not raise any objection on the ground of limitation and that the State would argue the matter on merits.

In view of the statements made hereinabove, leave is granted to the Petitioner to withdraw this Petition, with liberty to file an Appeal against the impugned order under Section 60 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, as submitted by Mr. Anil Patil, learned Advocate for the Petitioner. Vaibhav 4 49 - CR WP - 649 - 2026.doc

If the Petitioner files an Appeal against the impugned order dated 25th May 2026 passed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sawantwadi under Section 60 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 before the Appellate Authority within two (2) weeks from today, the Appellate Authority is requested not to insist on an Application for condonation of delay and to consider the Appeal on its own merits and in accordance with law.