preventive detention
Preventive detention is not punishment for an offence; it is based on the executive's subjective satisfaction that the person must be prevented from doing something in the future. The Constitution permits it but subjects it to the safeguards in Article 22(4) to (7): detention beyond three months needs an Advisory Board's opinion; the grounds must be communicated as soon as may be; and the detenu must get the earliest opportunity to make a representation.
Laws include the National Security Act, 1980 and COFEPOSA, 1974, and State laws such as the Karnataka Goondas Act. Courts strictly enforce procedure through habeas corpus: delay in considering a representation or vague grounds will vitiate the detention.
Example
The preventive detention order was quashed in habeas corpus because the detenu's representation was not considered for six weeks.
In Indian law
- Article 22(3) to (7), Constitution of India
- National Security Act, 1980
- A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras, 1950 INSC 13: early decision on preventive detention and Article 21
See also
habeas corpus · right to life and personal liberty · arrest
Read more in the study notes
- Article 22: rights of the arrested person and preventive detention (Constitutional Law I)
- Preventive action of the police (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
- Article 20: rights of the accused (Constitutional Law I)
- Article 21: right to life and personal liberty (Constitutional Law I)
- ICCPR: civil and political rights and their implementation (Human Rights Law and Practice)
- Foreign companies and foreign nationals in India (International Trade Economics)