While quashing the detention of a person under the National Security Act (NSA) & ordering his release, the High Court of Allahabad has observed, “Where the law confers extraordinary power on the executive to detain a person without recourse to the ordinary law of land & to trial by courts, such a law has to be strictly construed & the executive must exercise the power with extreme care”.
Allowing a habeas corpus writ petition filed by one Javed Siddiqui challenging his detention under NSA, a division bench comprising Justice Pritinker Diwaker & Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava observed, “The history of personal liberty is largely the history of insistence on observation of the procedural safeguards. The law of preventive detention, though is not punitive, but only preventive, heavily affects the personal liberty of individual enshrined under Article 21 (right to life & personal liberty) of the Constitution of India and, therefore, the authority concerned is under obligation to pass detention order according to procedure established by law & will ensure that the constitutional safeguards have been followed.”
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Coming down heavily on the state authorities concerned for not placing statutory representation of the detenue (the petitioner) within the prescribed time before the Advisory Board, the court said, “It is evident from the record that, while extraordinary haste was shown in taking action against the petitioner, the authorities remained reluctant & there was complete inaction on their part causing unjustified delay in processing the representation of the detenue & in not placing the representation before the Advisory Board. This inaction on the part of the authorities certainly resulted in deprivation on the right of the petitioner of fair opportunity of hearing & it also resulted in denial of the opportunity of fair hearing to the petitioner as provided under law. This is not permissible & is in gross violation of established legal & procedural norms & legal & constitutional protection.”
The petitioner, Javed Siddiqui, was accused of violence against Dalits in Jaunpur this year. On June 9, 2020, a brawl among children took a violent turn followed by communal tension in Bhadethi village of Jaunpur wherein over a dozen hutments owned by Dalits were set ablaze & massive damages were caused. As per the FIR in this case, on June 9, Javed Siddiqui along with 80 persons went to the slums of Bhadethi & committed rioting, arson & used castiest words against the inhabitants of the slums.
Later, Javed Siddiqui was arrested & on July 10, 2020, & detention order against him was passed by the district magistrate, Jaunpur on the same day under section 3(2) of National Security Act (NSA).
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The petitioner challenged his detention under NSA saying that he was not given a fair opportunity to present his case before UP Advisory Board, Lucknow to challenge the detention order neither his representation was placed before the advisory board in time nor was he supplied relevant documents with regard to his detention under NSA. The Court gave this decision on Dec 7.
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