The Andhra Pradesh High Court has set aside a preventive detention order passed under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PIT NDPS Act), reaffirming that personal liberty cannot be curtailed without strict adherence to procedural safeguards.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Ravi Nath Tilhari and Justice Purushottam Kumar Chintalapudi allowed a habeas corpus petition challenging the detention of a person against whom a preventive detention order had been issued by the District Collector and District Magistrate, East Godavari District.
The Court found that relevant and material information had not been placed before the District Magistrate at the time of passing the detention order. Observing that such non-consideration of relevant material vitiates the subjective satisfaction required for preventive detention, the Bench quashed both the original detention order and the subsequent government order confirming the detention.
Directing the immediate release of the detenu, the Court clarified that the release would be subject to the individual not being required in any other criminal case. The Bench emphasized that preventive detention powers must be exercised with utmost care and only after considering all relevant facts and materials.
At the same time, the Court granted liberty to the District Collector to issue a fresh detention order in accordance with law, if warranted by the facts and circumstances of the case. However, the Bench imposed an important safeguard by directing that any fresh detention order should not result in the detenu being held for more than the statutory maximum period of 12 months, inclusive of the period already undergone under the quashed detention order.
The ruling highlights the judiciary's continued scrutiny of preventive detention laws and reinforces the principle that procedural lapses affecting the decision-making process can render detention orders unconstitutional. The judgment serves as a reminder that the extraordinary power of preventive detention must be exercised strictly within the framework of constitutional and statutory safeguards.