The Supreme Court on Monday, April 9, 2023, observed in a judgment that preventive detention laws in India are a colonial legacy and confer arbitrary power to the state.
A 27-page judgment authored by a Bench led by Justice Krishna Murari described preventive detention laws as “extremely powerful”. They have an ability to provide the state with unfettered discretion, the court warned.
“In such a circumstance, where there is a possibility of an unfettered discretion of power by the government, this court must analyse cases arising from such laws with extreme caution and excruciating detail, to ensure that there are checks and balances on the power of the government,” Justice Murari wrote.
The court said judges should ensure that the government has followed every procedure of law while flexing preventive detention powers against individuals.
“Every lapse in procedure must give rise to a benefit to the case of the detenue,” Justice Murari observed.
The courts, Justice Murari said, in circumstances of preventive detention, are conferred with the duty that has been given the utmost importance by the Constitution, which is the “protection of individual and civil liberties”.
“This act of protecting civil liberties, is not just the saving of rights of individuals in person and the society at large, but is also an act of preserving our constitutional ethos, which is a product of a series of struggles against the arbitrary power of the British state,” the court observed.
The judgment came in an appeal filed by a man, Pramod Single, against a Delhi High Court decision to reject his plea to quash the detention order against him.
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