The Supreme Court directed the immediate release of a law student who had been placed under preventive detention by the District Magistrate of Betul, Madhya Pradesh, under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act, 1980 (NSA). A Bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice K. Vinod Chandran passed the order while hearing the appellant’s plea challenging the validity of his continued detention.
The appellant, a law student, was detained on 11 July 2024, and the order was subsequently extended four times, the most recent extension being valid till 12 July 2025. His writ petition challenging the detention was earlier dismissed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, prompting the appeal before the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that the detention was arbitrary and lacked the statutory justification required under the NSA. It was pointed out that the appellant had nine criminal cases registered against him: five resulted in acquittals, one ended in a conviction with only a fine, and the remaining three were pending, with the appellant already granted bail on 28 January 2025 in the most recent matter. As such, his continued detention was solely attributable to the NSA order.
After perusing the record, the Court observed that the grounds for detention failed to meet the threshold required under preventive detention law. It emphasized that the authorities had not established any compelling reason as to why preventive detention was warranted when the appellant was already facing regular criminal prosecution and was out on bail.
Finding the detention to be legally unsustainable, the Court directed the immediate release of the appellant from Central Jail, Bhopal, unless his custody was required in connection with any other criminal matter. The Bench concluded the matter by stating that a detailed reasoned judgment would follow.
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Animesh Kumar, AOR; Dr. Sumit Kumar, Adv. Mr. Keshav Baheti, Adv.; Ms. Aanchal Maheshwari, Adv.; Mr. Pranay Shukla, Adv.; Mr. Priyanshu Khare, Adv.
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Piyush Beriwal, Adv.; Mr. Akshay Beriwal, Adv.; Mr. Amit Sharma, Adv.; Mr. Abhimanyu Singh, Adv.; Mr. Rajan Chaurasia, Adv.; Mr. Jagdish Trivedi, Adv.; Ms. Mrinal Gopal Elker, AOR
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