Gandhinagar, Sep 27 (IANS): A few weeks after the Gujarat High Court lambasted the use of externment orders as an atrocity on the people, the Gujarat Assembly was provided data on the total externment cases in the state. The government declared that there were 1620 such cases in the last two years in Gujarat.

In a written reply to a question by independent MLA Jignesh Mewani from Vadgam constituency, the government admitted that the externment cases were mainly filed to prevent criminal activities. The reply stated there were 350 cases in Ahmedabad city and five cases in Ahmedabad rural.

The question did not see any discussion in the House on the issue as Mewani was not present.

The government informed that there were 5,402 PASA cases in the state during the same period. In Ahmedabad city, the PASA cases reported in the last two years were 2,477 and in rural Ahmedabad they were 67. The courts have withdrawn 37 externment cases and 3,447 cases of PASA.

A few weeks ago the Gujarat High Court came down heavily on a sub-divisional magistrate for passing an externment order against a man who had called up the Godhra MLA's son to question him about his father's work. The order prevents an externed person from entering a particular region or area of the state for a stipulated period of time.

"We do not run kingdoms. We are a democratic republic. Is this a republic in which a citizen cannot question his elected representative? Externment orders are passed upon doing so?" the court asked, describing the order as an "atrocity" against people at large.