People detained in jails beyond period of 3 months
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam State Legal Services Authority (ASLSA) to seek a report from all prisons and take remedial measures regarding the status of detenues who are detained under the preventive detention laws beyond the period of three months from the date of initial order of detention without the order of confirmation passed by the Advisory Board. The division bench of Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Mitali Thakuria sought a compliance report on the directions.
The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition (WP(Crl.)/17/2023) filed by the sister of a detenu, Sukumar Das, who had been detained under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988. The petitioner had challenged the detention order on various grounds, amongst others, including non-application of mind, non-supply of relevant documents and delay in disposal of the representations, etc.
The communication dated May 10, 2023 issued by the Under Secretary to the Government of Assam, Political (A) Department was submitted to the court wherein it was stated that the confirmation of detention order dated August 24, 2022 was under process in the Department. The court observed that no order of confirmation had been issued authorizing the detention of the detenu beyond the period of three months.
The court said, “Article 22 of the Constitution of India governs the detention of a person under the laws of preventive detention. Article 22(4) of the Constitution of India clearly postulates that no law providing for preventive detention shall authorize the detention of a person for a longer period than three months, unless the Advisory Board has reported that there is sufficient cause for such detention.”
It observed that once the report of the Advisory Board is received, the State Government is under an obligation to pass an order of confirmation or revocation, as the case may be, of the initial detention order and the said order must be issued within the period of three months.
“The situation in the case at hand is alarming to say the least because the detenu has been kept behind bars for a period of more than eight months without the initial detention order being confirmed. Every moment of custody of the detenu beyond the period of three months from the date of the initial order of detention without the order of confirmation being passed, amounts to illegal detention pure and simple,” the court said.
The court declared that further detention of Sukumar Das was illegal and in gross contravention of the mandate of Article 22(4) of the Constitution of India. The court ordered that he should be released from custody forthwith. As a symbolic compensation to the detenu for his grossly illegal detention for a period of more than nearly four-and-half months after completion of the three months initial period, the court directed the State to pay a sum of Rs 50,000 to Sukumar Das within a period of 30 days.
The court further directed the Assam State Legal Services Authority to seek a report from all prisons across Assam regarding the status of detenues, who have been detained under the preventive detention laws, so as to find out whether any similar situation prevails and to take remedial measures, if so required. The court ordered that the compliance report of these directions must be submitted.
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