Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court has emphasized the importance of strictly following procedural requirements in matters relating to preventive detention laws. The apex court observed that the laws on preventive detention are necessarily draconian, keeping a person behind bars without trial, which curtails his personal liberty. In this case, the prescribed procedure should be strictly followed. The top court made the observation while passing an order on a petition filed in Jharkhand regarding the continued detention of a person under the Preventive Detention Act.
Simultaneously, a bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia also set aside the Jharkhand High Court’s order upholding the custody of the petitioner. Please tell that the petitioner Prakash Chandra Yadav alias Mungeri Yadav was declared ‘anti-social element’ under the Jharkhand Crime Control Act, 2002. The Act deals with the eviction and detention of anti-social elements. Under the provisions of the Act, the state government can detain any anti-social elements to prevent them from indulging in unwanted activities.
The bench, in its order dated July 10, said that the process of law was not followed. Simultaneously, the petitioner was ordered to be released from Rajmahal jail in Sahibganj district of Jharkhand. At this juncture, the bench observed that all laws on preventive detention are necessarily draconian. They curtail the personal liberty of a person who is put behind bars without trial. In such cases, the process itself is with a detainee. Hence the laws of preventive detention should be strictly implemented. The bench also held that the period of detention of the appellant beyond the period of three months was unauthorized and illegal.