Illegal use of MPDA: Jalgaon district officials fined Rs 2 lakh

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has fined Jalgaon district officials Rs 2 lakh for misusing the MPDA Act. The court directed the state government to recover the amount from the officials’ salaries and pay it to Dikshant alias Dadu Devidas Sapkal, who was wrongfully targeted.

Sapkal had been in judicial custody since July 2024 when officials issued a detention order against him on July 18, 2024, under the MPDA. However, the order was served 10 months later, on May 23, 2025, when he was released on bail. Challenging the delay, Sapkal filed a writ petition, and Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Hiten Venegavkar ruled that the delay rendered the detention unlawful. They noted that the crime cited in the MPDA order had no connection to Sapkal. The court rejected the state’s claim of a typographical error, emphasizing that personal liberty cannot be violated due to carelessness. The court criticized the officials for misusing the law, ordered Sapkal’s release, and directed compensation of Rs 2 lakh, recoverable from district collector Ayush Prasad’s salary.