HC orders release of 1,000 detained under Goondas Act

Aug 21: The bench comprising Justice E Padmanabhan and Justice K P Sivasubramaniam ordered the release today, stating that the detention h...

Aug 21: The bench comprising Justice E Padmanabhan and Justice K P Sivasubramaniam ordered the release today, stating that the detention had become invalid because of the failure on the part of the detaining authority to inform the detenus at the time of issuing the detention orders about their right to make a representation before the detaining authority.

When the public prosecutor highlighted the difficulties that might be faced by the State, as hitherto in all the orders passed under the Goondas Act, such an opportunity or direction or advice had not been given and this might lead to a grave situation, the bench observed that “we are not unmindful of the harmful consequences of the activities in which the detenus are alleged to be involved. However, being courts of law enforcing the constitutional provisions, it is our constitutional obligation to enforce the fundamental rights of the people,” it said.

One of the detenues, Karthik, was detained under the Goondas Act by an order dated December 7, 1999 by the Tiruchi Police Commissioner. Challenging the detention, his mother had filed a habeas corpus writ petition in the High Court.

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Her counsel A Packiaraj contended that while issuing the detention order under Sec. 3(2) of the Tamil Nadu Act 14, 1982, the detenu had not been informed of the right to make a representation. This failure resulted in infraction of constitutional right guaranteed under Art. 22(5) of the Constitution, he said. Therefore, Karthik must be set at liberty, he added.

Quoting the recent judgement of the Supreme Court in the State of Maharashtra and others vs Santhosh Shankar Acharya, the counsel pointed out that the detention order was silent in that the detaining authority had not intimated the detenu of the right to make a representation to the detaining authority, i.e. the District Magistrate, who had passed the detention order. This order would be valid upto 12 days, by which date the State Government has to either approve it or otherwise pass consequential orders.

Allowing the petition, the bench observed that “the order of the Supreme Court is binding on us. We hold that there is an infraction of the constitutional right guaranteed to the detenu under Art. 22(5) of the Constitution,” it said.

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