A detention order is illegal when confirmation order is not served upon detenue; SC.
- 06:00Supreme Court of India
Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hrishikesh Roy
It was held by the SC {Khaja Bilal Ahmed v. State of Telangana & Ors } that the detention order dated 25 October 2018 has to be set aside, in the present case, on the following grounds: (i) reference to stale and irrelevant grounds in the detention order by the detaining authority; and (ii) the manner in which the order of confirmation dated 28 December 2018 was presented before the SC, casts doubt on the existence of the order of confirmation in the first place.
It was held as regards the registration of Crime no 178 of 2018, the appellant was released on bail consequent upon the failure of the investigating authority to file a charge-sheet within ninety days. A charge-sheet, as has been pointed earlier, has not been filed till date. There was no reasonable basis on which the detaining authority could have come to a conclusion that: (i) On being released on bail, the appellant would in all probability indulge in prejudicial activity; and (ii) It was necessary to detain him, to prevent him from engaging in prejudicial activity. (See in this context Kamarunnissa v Union of India).
In the present case, the appellant was detained under the provisions of sub-section 2 of Section 3 of the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Boot-Leggers, Dacoits, Drug-Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders Land-Grabbers, Spurious Seed Offenders, Insecticide Offenders, Fertiliser Offenders, Food Adulteration Offenders, Fake Document Offenders, Scheduled Commodities Offenders, Forest Offenders, Gaming Offenders, Sexual Offenders, Explosive Substances Offenders, Arms Offenders, Cyber Crime Offenders and White Collar or Financial Offenders Act 1986. The order of detention was issued on 2 November 2018 by the Commissioner of Police, Rachakonda, Commissionerate. It came to be quashed by the SC - while allowing the appeal and setting aside the HC Judgment.