The bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Augustine George Masih observed that the Supreme Court’s important order has set aside the preventive detention order of the lower court against two accused in a drug case. The petitioners were Ashraf Hussain Chowdhury and his wife Adaliyu Shawang, who were arrested in a drug case. The Supreme Court has set aside the Gauhati High Court’s order rejecting the petition challenging the confirmation of the preventive detention of both of them.
The bench observed that preventive detention without criminal trial or conviction is an invasion of personal liberty. Precautionary detention of a person with the pretext of preventing him from committing criminal acts is a cruel act. Although the Constitution allows it, Article 22 also lays down strict criteria to be followed while implementing preventive detention. The investigating officer failed to inform the petitioners about the reason for the detention. The Supreme Court dismissed both the writ petitions of the accused and set aside the judgment of the Gauhati High Court dated August 29, 2024.
Preventive detention is a primitive practice:Supreme Court
