# KHAIDEM IBOCHA SINGH ETC v. STATE OF MANIPUR

- **Citation:** [1972] 1 S.C.R. 1022
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1971-10-08
- **Case number:** Writ Petitions Nos. 289 to 295 of 1971
- **Bench:** C. A. Vaidialingam, P. Jaganmohan Reddy, K. K. Mathew
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/khaidem-ibocha-singh-etc-v-state-of-manipur-5319
- **Pages:** 12

## Headnote

Preventive detention under Orissa Preventive Detention Act, 1970--
o"elay in considering represcnta'tions to Sta~ Government-Eff_ect on det/Mtion orders-Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 22(5)-lf violated.
The petitioners were detained by orders of detention under the Orissa
Preventive Detention Act, 1970, and the grounds of detention were furnished to them on tbo same day. They sent a representation to the State
Government, and the State Government rejected it 17 days late\".
The
petitioners challeng•d the validity of the order of detention under Art.
32 on the allegation that the del~y cvnstituted a v:olation of their right
under Art. 22(5).
Allowing the petitions.
HELD : There has been an uruoxplained delay of 17 days in disposing
of the representation of the detenus, and consequently, the\"e has been a
nolation of the constitutional right guarante.od under Art. 22(5) to the
petitioners. ·[1030 A-Bl
The question whether there is delay in dispoiing of the representation
made by a detenu and if so whether that delay has been properly explained by the State will have to be gathered f\-om all the facts and circumstances of a particular case.
In the present case, the respondent did not
state what steps were taken from the date of receiving the reprewntation
to the date of rejecting it, excepting making a very bald statement that
inquiries were sought from jail autholr:ties through the sub-deputy collector, and that the jail authorities sent a letter two days before rejecting the
representation.
There is no averment in the counter affidavit that the
inquiries were made drally, and in the absence of such an averment it is
reasonable to presume that being an official matter there would be some
correspondence.
But ne:ther the "details of any enquiries made, nor the
correspondence, were referred to or disclosed. [1029 E-H]
Durga Show etc. v. State of West Bengal, W.P. Nos. 198, 205/69 etc.
dated 2-9-1969, Khairul Haque v. State of West Bengal, W.P. No. 246/
69 dated 10-9-1969, Prr,bhakar Shankar Dhuri v. Sh. S. G. Prashan &
Ors., W.P. No. 514170 dated 18-12-1970 and Jcyanarayan Sukul v. State
of Wes~ Bengal, [1970] 3 S.C.R. 225. followed.
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petitions Nos. 289 to 295 of
1971.
Petitions under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India for writs
in the ,nature of habeas corpus.
S. C. Manchanda, 0. P. Verma and Petitioners were also
present, for the petitioners (in all the petitions).
R. N. Sachthey, for the respondent (i,n all the petitions).
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K. I. SINGH V. MANIPUR (Vaidialingam, J.)
1923

## Text

1022
KHAIDEM IBOCHA SINGH ETC.
V.
STATE OF MANIPUR
October 8, 1971
[C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, P. JAGANMOHAN REDDY AND
.
K. K. MATHEW, JJ.]
Preventive detention under Orissa Preventive Detention Act, 1970--
o"elay in considering represcnta'tions to Sta~ Government-Eff_ect on det/Mtion orders-Constitution of India, 1950, Art. 22(5)-lf violated.
The petitioners were detained by orders of detention under the Orissa
Preventive Detention Act, 1970, and the grounds of detention were furnished to them on tbo same day. They sent a representation to the State
Government, and the State Government rejected it 17 days late\".
The
petitioners challeng•d the validity of the order of detention under Art.
32 on the allegation that the del~y cvnstituted a v:olation of their right
under Art. 22(5).
Allowing the petitions.
HELD : There has been an uruoxplained delay of 17 days in disposing
of the representation of the detenus, and consequently, the\"e has been a
nolation of the constitutional right guarante.od under Art. 22(5) to the
petitioners. ·[1030 A-Bl
The question whether there is delay in dispoiing of the representation
made by a detenu and if so whether that delay has been properly explained by the State will have to be gathered f\-om all the facts and circumstances of a particular case.
In the present case, the respondent did not
state what steps were taken from the date of receiving the reprewntation
to the date of rejecting it, excepting making a very bald statement that
inquiries were sought from jail autholr:ties through the sub-deputy collector, and that the jail authorities sent a letter two days before rejecting the
representation.
There is no averment in the counter affidavit that the
inquiries were made drally, and in the absence of such an averment it is
reasonable to presume that being an official matter there would be some
correspondence.
But ne:ther the "details of any enquiries made, nor the
correspondence, were referred to or disclosed. [1029 E-H]
Durga Show etc. v. State of West Bengal, W.P. Nos. 198, 205/69 etc.
dated 2-9-1969, Khairul Haque v. State of West Bengal, W.P. No. 246/
69 dated 10-9-1969, Prr,bhakar Shankar Dhuri v. Sh. S. G. Prashan &
Ors., W.P. No. 514170 dated 18-12-1970 and Jcyanarayan Sukul v. State
of Wes~ Bengal, [1970] 3 S.C.R. 225. followed.
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petitions Nos. 289 to 295 of
1971.
Petitions under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India for writs
in the ,nature of habeas corpus.
S. C. Manchanda, 0. P. Verma and Petitioners were also
present, for the petitioners (in all the petitions).
R. N. Sachthey, for the respondent (i,n all the petitions).
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K. I. SINGH V. MANIPUR (Vaidialingam, J.)
1923
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Vaidialingam, J. The seven petitioners in these writ petitions
under Art. 32 of the Constitution, challenge the validity of the
orders of detention dated January 31, 1971 passed against each
of them by the District Magistrate, Manipur (Central) under subfl
s. ( 2) of s. 3 read with sub-s. ( 1) of the Orissa Preventive Detention Act, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) as extended
to Manipur. They seek relief for issue of a writ of Habeas Corpus
and for directions being i>sued to the respondent-the State of
Manipur to release them from custody.
The orders of detention state that they have been passed with
C a view to preventing the petitioners from acting in any manner
prejudicial to the maintenance of pu'b1ic order. ·The petitioners,
in consequence of these orders, were taken into custody and detained.
Along with the petitioners another person, Prof. Nandlal
Sharma, was also detained. The grounds of detention, as required
by s. 7 ( 1 ) of the Act were furnished to the detenus on the same
I) day. The order of detention passed against Prof. Nandlal Sharma
was later on revoked by the Lt. Governor and he was released.
The petitioners, in Writ Petitions .Nos. 289, 290, 291 and 295
of 1971 are either Masters of Arts (In Poiitical Science) or Master
of Arts, Education and are all Professors of Colleges of Moirang or
Imphal. The petitioner in W•it Petition No. 294 of 1971 holds
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M.Sc., B. Ed., degrees and is an Assistant Head Master in a H'gh
School in Imphal. The educational qualifications of the petitioner
in Writ petitions Nos. 292 and 293 are not clear from the records
but they claim to be socral workers.
The District Magistrate made the necessary report to the Admi1'
nistrator under sub-section (3) of s. 3. On February 10, 1971,
the Administrator under s. 3 ( 3) approved the orders of detention
passed by the District Magist·ate on January 31, 1971 and the
orders of approval were also communicated to the detenus.
All the petitioners made a joint representition on March l,
1971, which was received by the Government on March 3, 1971.
G In the represe,ntation, the petitione•s had raised various grounds
of attack against the order of detention. They had also very e1aborately dealt with them and very strenuously refuted the vario~s
allegations contained in the grounds served on them, on the basis
of which the orders of detention had been pas,ed. The Administrator considered the representa•ion received from the detenus and
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rejected the same on rMarch 20, .1971. The petitioners were informed about the rejection of the representation by communication
dated March 22, 1971. The ca,es of rthe petitioners were referred
to the Advisory Board on February 16, 1971 as required under
1024
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[ 1972] I S.C.R.
s. 9 of the Act. The Advisory Board considered the matter and
sent its report on April 18. 1971 expressing its opinion that the
detention of the petitioners was justified.
We may mention at this
stage that the various dates given above are all taken from the
counter-affidavit filed by the Secretary to the
Government
of
Marnpur, on behalf of the respc1ndent.
We are mentioning this
aspect because there is a slight discrepency in the dates given by
the petitioners.
That is why we have chosen to adopt the dates
given on behalf of the State itself.
On behal,f of the petitioners Mr. S. C. Manchanda, has raised
various grounds of attack against the orders of detention passed
by the State Government. The counsel very strenuously urged that
the matters mentioned in the grounds furnished to the peti.ioners
ftre absolutely false.
According to him the petitioners are all
educated persons and that they have been only writing articles
pleading for improving the lot of the people of Manipur and for
giv~ng due recognition to the hopes and aspirations of the people
of Manipur.
The counsel has also urged that the grounds of
detention are all vague and it was not possible for the detenus
to make any effective representation against such vague allegations.
The counsel furth~r urged that in any event, there. has been an
inordinate delay of 1 7 days in the Administrator disposing of the
representation made by the petitioners and as such there has been
a violation of Art. 22 ( 5) of the Constitution. Therefore, the detention orders will have to be struck dow1n even on this short ground.
On the other hand, according to the affidavit filed on behalf
of the State, all the petitioners are active members of the Pan
Manipuri Youth League which is "an Over-ground Organisation
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of the Under-ground insurgents in Manipur." The petitioners have
been .publishing various matters in books and patnphJe·s with a
view to create an atmosphere of distrust, hatred, disaffection and
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disloyalty in the minds of the people of Manipur.
It is further
urged that the petitioners, along with others were having secret
meetings and using their influence as Professors and Teachers to
incite the students to indulge in violent activities and take up arms
against the Government.
The respondent also urged that full
particu1ars regarding the date, time and place, whe,re the meetings
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were held or violent activities took place have all been very clearly
given in the grounds of detention.
As will be seen from the
elaborate representation made by them, the petitioners can have
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no grievance that the irrounds were vague.
The representation
deals with every one of the matters mentioned in the grounds.
Even othet\vise, if there was anv vagueness in all or lilly of ihe ii
gmunds. it was open to the petitioners to have asked f<Jr fttffliet
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p'lirticu1ars, which they did not do. kl! fhese eitcttfustliiices, !lecording to the respondent, c!Mrly show thiit the griev:tnce fhilt
I
K. I. SINGH v. MANIPUR ( Vaidialingam, J.)
l 0 2 s
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the grounds were vague is, absolutely unjustified.
It is further
pointed out by Mr. R. N. SachLhey, learned cou,nsel for the State,
that. there has been no delay on lhe part of the Government in
considering the repre;entation made by the petitiqne:·s and that
there has been no violation of Art. 22 ( 5) of the Constitution. In
order to enable the Administrator to properly dispose of the reB prese.ntation made by the detenus, certain infocmation had to be
collected from other officials and after the informaiion was made
avai.able, the representation was rejected. Even if there h;s been
any delay, it has been properly explained in the counter-affidavit
filed on behalf of the State. Mr. Sachthey further contended that
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fae respondent seeks to justify the orders of detention on the
ground that they haye been made with a view to prevent the petitioners and others from indulging in activities prejudicial to the
maintenance of public order.
We are of the opinion that the contention of Mr. Manchanda
that there has been a delay in the State in passing orders on the
representation made by the petitioners and that the said de ay has
not been properly explained by the State, has, in the circumstances
of this case, to be accepted. In consequence, it fo!'.ows that there
has been a violation of the constitutional right guaranteed under
Art. 22 ( 5) to the petitioners. We are further of the view that
the detention orders will have to be struck down on this short
gr.ound. In the above view, we do not think it necessary to refer
E in detail to the grou,nds of detention, which have no doubt been
very severely attacked on behalf of the petitioners. HJwever, we
should say that prima facie we are satisfied that the grounds are·
neither vague nor devoid of particulars, nor can it be said that in
this case there were no materials on the basis of which the detaining authority could not have passed the orders of detention under
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s. '1 ( 2) read with s. 3 (1 ) of the Act for the purpose mentioned
therein on the basis of the ground~ furnished to the petitioners.
HowevP.r. as we are striking; down the order for the reason mentioned earlier, it is unnecessary to pursue this· aspect further.
Jn dea'ing with the question whether there has been any de'ay
in di<posing of the representation made by the petitioners. and if
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so, whether that delay has been properly explained by the State,
it may be relevant to note only one of the ground< for de'ention.
In ground No. 4, it has been allel!:ed that the pe•i"ioners and other
leaders of ~he. Pan Manpuri Youth League held a secret meeting on
O.~cember 13, 1970 beJtween 7 P.M. and 9 P.M. wherein it was
decided to bovcott the Reuublic Dav functiorn to be held on
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January 26, 1971 at Manipur and to disrupt the celebrations by
violent means.
There is a fnrther allegation that the petitioners
along with other leaders of the league held annth~r s~cret m~eting
on December 16, 1970 between 6 P.M. and 10.30 P.M. wherein
1026
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1972] 1 S.C.R.
ilhe decision taken at the meeting of December 13, 1970 was con-
.firmed and it was further decided to incite the students and the
meml:1ers of the public to boycott the Republic Day celebrations.
It is further alleged that it was also decided at the said meeting
to create an atmosphere of panic, confusion and public disorder
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by doing various acts referred to therein.
As a consequence of
these decisions taken at the two meetings, it is alleged, that the
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various violent acts, referred to in the said ground No. 4 were
committed.
We have already referred to the fact that along with the petitioner, one Prof. Nandlal Sharma, was also detained under the
Act.
The allegations in ground No. 4 related not only to the
petitioners but also to the participation of the said Prof. Nandlal. C
Sharma in the secret meetings held on the night of December 13,
1970 as well as of December 16, 1970. It is pertine,nt to note
that in the counter-affidavit filed on b-~half of the State, it has
been admitted that Prof. N andlal Sharma was ar·ested on December 4, 1970 in case No. 427 (9) of 1970, Imphal Police Station
under ss. 124A/153A of the Indian Pe.nal Code and that he was
released on bail by the Court on December 18, 1970. There.fore,
it is clear even from the admission of the respondent that p-of.
Nandlal Sharma was in jail custody from December 4, 1970 till
December 18, 1970 and as such he could not have attended the
secret meetings held on December 13, 1970 and December 16,
1970, referred to in ground No. 4.
There is no controversy that the joint representation made by
the petitioners, was se,nt to the State Government on March 1,
1971. The said represen'taticn was received by the State Government on March 3, 1971, as admitted in the coun,ter-atli 4avit. Even
accordin~ to the State, the representation was rejec:ted only on
March 20, 1971, though communicated to the detenus on March
22, 1971. According to the petitioners the rep·esentation dated
March 1, 1971 had reached the State on the same day, and that
it was rejected o,ily on March 22, 1971 and that there has been
a delay of about 20 days. But, even according to the dates given
by the State, which we are accepting, there has been a gap of at
least 17 days in disposing of the representation. In the w-it oetitions, the petitioners apart from challenging the orders of detention
on merits, have specifically pleaded that there has been a long
delav of nearly 46 days in di,posing of their representation. But
specifically thev have pleaded that the•e has been a delay of 17
days in the disno>al bv the Sta•e of their •eore,entation and hence
·there has been a vi"lation of Art. 22(5) of the constitution.
The
petitioners have further pleaded that anv time that mav have been
taken to collect informati"n about Prof. N•ndlal Sharma can.not
·operate to the preiudice of the oe•itioners.
Thev have al'o plea<led
·that even assuming that any information had to be collected by the
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A Government, the period of 17 days, as stated by the Government,
was not at all necessary and any information could have ~n got
easily from the Jailor, Manipur Central Jaif, Imphal, within a few
minutes, as the Jail was located within a very short distance from
the Secretariat.
From what is stated above, it is clear that the State was fully
B aware of the fact that the petitioners were also attacking the orders
of detention as illegal on the ground of the above de.ay, which has
resulted in violation of Art. 22(5) of the Constitution.
Under
those circumstances, there was a duty on the part of the State to
give proper reasons explaining satisfactorily the circumstances
why the order, on the representation made by the petitioners, could
c not be passed earlier.
The State and its Legal Advisers must have
been well aware of the decisions rendered by this Court, to which
we will immediately refer, wherein it has been held that an unexplained delay in disposing of the rep•esentation made by a detenu
makes the order of detention illegal as being violative of the
constitutional right guaranteed to such a person under Art. 22 ( 5)
of the Constitution.
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In paragraph 13 of the counter-affidavit filed by the Secretary
to the Government, it is admitted that the representation dated
March 1, 1971 made by the petitioners was reecived by the Government on March 3, 1971 and rejected by the Administrator on
March 20, 1971.
The actual reasons given by the Secretary as to
E why it took 17 days for rejecting the representation can very well
be set out as stated in the counter-affidavit, which is as follows.:
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"It took 17 days for the representation to be considered and. decided because enquiries were sought from the
Jail authorities through S. D. C. Headquarters regarding
certain facts brought out as regards Nandlal Sha-ma.
The Jailor Manipur Central Jail bv his Jetter dated 18th
Ma•ch, 1971 wrote to District Magistrate giving the
requisite information. It was the•eupon forwarded to
the Chief Secretary who in hi1 turn brought it 10 the
notice ot the Administrator.
The Lt. Governor revoked
the 0rder of detention of Nand'al Sharma who
was
thereupon released.
A true copy of the letter dated
18-3-1971 "ddres1ed by th~ fai'or to the Di<trict M 0 gistrate, Manipur Central Jail is annexed to this affidavit
and marked as a A.nnexure TI. The detenus were infonned accordingly on 22-3-1971."
From the above it wi!J be seen that the respondent seeks to offer
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an explanation for passing the order onlv on March 20, 1971
thon~h the representation was received on March 3. 1971. The
:reason given is that enquirie1 were marle from the. Jail authorities
through the Sub-Deputy Collector, Headquarters about certain
1028
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1972] 1 S.C.R.
facts relating to Prof. Nandlal Sharma and in respect of the same
a letter of the Jailor, Manipur Central Jail dated March 18, J971
has been referred to and filed alo,ng with the counter-affidavit. The
letter of the Jail or dated March 18, 1971 referred
to
jn the
counter-affidavit is as follows :
"Government of Manipur
Manipur Central Jail, Imphal
No. 145/J/71/0rissa/P.D. Act/275
Imphal the 18th March, 1971
To
The District Magistrate,
Manipur Central Jail, Imphal.
Sir,
Subject : Query on rthe sta)' of Shri Nan dial
Sharma in Jail in December, 1970.
I have the honour to state that :-
It is learnt that it was enquired by the S.D.C. Head
Quarter whether Shri Nan dial Sharma was in jail on
13th and 16th of Decernber, 1970 in reply the assistant
dealing prisoners' section reported negative on the interpretation that the query was not meant if Sharma was in
jail 011 13th and 16th December, 1970 and that the
query was meant if Sharma was admitted in this jail
particularly on 13 or 16 December, 1970.
Having received this information I beg your pardonance to correct as follows that Shri Nandlal Sharma was
in this iail for the period from 4-12-70 in connection
with F.I.R. No. 427(9) 70 of I.PS. u/s 124-A/153-A
I.P.C. under the orders cf the A.D.M. and rdeased on
18-12-70 on bail.
Submitted for favour of necessary correction.
Yours faithfully,
Sd. Nadiya Chand Singh,
Jailor, Manipur Central Jail, Imphal."
The language of this letter is very unhappy. We do not know
whether the above Jetter was in English or whether it is a translation.
Anyhow we have given the full extract of the letter as it is
in the record.
At thi' stage we may also mention that there is no
affidavit filed by the Jail or as to when enquiries were made bv the
Sub-Dennty Col'ector and· whether the enquiry was in writing or
oral.
The•e is also no affidwit bv him a' to how he learnt that
enquiries were made by the Sub-Deputy Collector regarding Prof.
Nandlal Sharma.
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K. I. SINGH v. MANIPUR ( Vaidialingam, I.)
1 0 .2'9
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From the extract quoted above from the counter-affidavit, it
is clear that the respondent does not state what alt skps were taken
from March 3, 19 71 til1 March 20, 1971, excepting makmg a very
bald statement that enquiries were sought from jail authorities
through Sub-Deputy Collector, Headquarters and that
tne jail
authority sent a letter on March 18, 1971. There is no averment
B in the counter-affidavit that the enquiries, referred to therein, were
made orally. In the absence of such averment, it is reasonab,e to
presume that being an official matter, the Sub-Deputy Col.ector
would have been desired by letter to collect ir'ormation from the
jail authorities and the Sub-Deputy Collector should have also addressed a cnmmunication to the Jail or asking for the necessary
c information.
No details as to when or how the Sub-Deputy
Collector was asked to make the enquiries nor any details as to how
the latter made enquiries from the Jailor are given.
There is no
reference to any correspondence tha.t may have passed between
the Secretary and the Sub-Deputy Collector on the one hand and
the Sub-Deputy Collector, the District Magistrate and the Jailor
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Even assuming there has been some correspondence,
particulars are not given.
Then turning to the letter of the Jailor, which has been quoted
above, it is rather significant that there is absolutely no reference
to any communication having been received by him from the SubE Deputy Collector, excepting a bald statement tl;iat "it is learnt :llat
it was enquired by the S.D.C. Headquarters ...... " Normally, in
an official correspondence when a reply is sent to a communication,
there will be a reference to that letter in the reply itself.
Even the
letter Qf the Jailor does not indicate whether the enquiry made by
the Sub-Deputy Collector was oral or by a letter. Admittedly the.
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Sub-Deputy Collector has not filed any supporting affidavit to the
effect that he was asked by the Administrator or any other officer
to make enquiries from the jail authorities and that he cvllected
the necessary information from the latter.
We are fully aware
that the question whether there is a delay in disposing of the
representation made by a detenu and if so, whether that delay has
G been properly explained by the State will have to be gathered from
all the facts and circumstances of a particu1ar case. In the absence
of the various particulars, referred to earlier, explaining the circumstances under which the order came to be passed only on March
20, 1971, it must be held that there has been an unexplained delay
of 17 days in this case in the Government disposing of the repreH sen ta ti on of the detenus.
Mr. Sachthey, lea med counsel for the
State, tried his very best to convince us that delay, if any, of 17
days, has been properly explained, but this contention cannot be
accepted.
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1972) 1 S.C.R.
Then the question is what is the effect of this unexplained delay
of 17 days regarding th.: va1idlty of the orders of detention passed
against the petitioners.
According to the petitioners the constitutional right given to them under Art. 22 ( 5) that the detenus shall
be affor<lt:d the earliest opportunity of making a
represen~ation
against the order, has been violated by this inordinate delay and
as such tlte orders of detention have to be set aside on this sole
ground.
If, as a m_a1ter of fact, there has been an unexplained delay of
17 days, Mr. Sachthey, also could not controvert the legal position
that Art. 22 ( 5) is violated under such circumstances. 1n fact,
he cannot argue to the contrary in view of the decision of this
Court.
In Durga Show etc. v. The State of West Benga/(1),
tlus Court had to consider the effect,
c-.n the order of
detention of a delay between the receipt of the representation from
the detenu and its consideration· and rejection by the Government.
In particular, in one ci the writ petitions therei,n, namely, Writ
Petition No. 206 of 1969, the representation was received on June
28, 1969 and was considered and rejected on July 14, 1969, which
means there was a delay of 16 days. In the other two petitions,
the delay was very much more.
This Court held that the unexplained delay of 16 days, which is the minimum, out of the three
cases, is a long delay where a person is being detai.ned without
trial under special law rela•ing to Preventive Detention.
After
referring to the previous decisions of this Court, it was emphasised
that it was necessarily implicit in the language of Art. 22 ( 5 J the
State Government, to whom the representa:tion is made, should
properly consider the representation as expeditiously as possible.
It was also stressed that the constitution of an Advisory Board does
.not relieve the State Government from the legal ob'igation to
consider the representation of the detenu as soon as it is received
by it. On this basis, this Court ultimately held that the requirement of Art. 22 ( 5) has not been satisfied as the State Gove-nment
had failed to consider a,nd dispose of the representations made by
the detenus as expeditiously as possible and, in conseauence, the
detention of the petitioners therein was held to be illegal.
In Khairul Haque v. The State of West Benga/( 2 ), this Court
had to consider the effect of a delay in the Government considering
the representations with regard to the orders of detention. This
Court a~ain reiterated that under Art. 22 ( 5) of the Comtitution,
there was a dual obligation on the aporopriate Government a,nd
a dual right in favour of a detenu, namely, (I) to have h;s repre.
sentation, irrespective of the length of detention, considered by the
(I) Writ Petition Nos. 198, 205, and 206of1969 decided on Sept. 2, 196~.
(2) Writ Petition No. 246 of 1969 decided on Sept. 10, 1969.
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K. I. SINGH v. MANIPUR (Vaidialingam, J.)
1031
appropriate Government; and (2) to have once again that representat10n i,n the light of the circumstances of the case considered
by the Advisory Board before it gave its opinion.
It was emphasised that. the two obligations cf the Government to reter the case
of the detenu to the Advisory Board and to obtain its repo:t on
the one ha.nd and to give an earliest opportunity to the detenu to
make a representation and consider the representation on the other,
are two distinct obligations, independent of each other.
It was
· further observed as follows :
"The fact that Art. 22(5) enjoins upon the detaining
authority to afford to the detenu the earliest opportunity
to make a representation must implicitly mean that such
representation must, when made, be considered and disposed of as expeditiously as possible, otherwise, it is
obvious that the obligation to furnish the earliest opportunity to make a representation loses both its purpose
and meaning."
In Prabhakar Shankar Dhuri v. Sh. S. G. Pradhan and others( 1)
unexplained and unaccounted for delay in the consideration of the
representation by the Government, results in holding that there
has been a violation of Art. 22 ( 5) which, in consequence, entitles
the detenu to be set at liberty.
In Prabhakar Shankar Dhuri v. Sh. S. G. Pradhan and other3(1)
it was again emphasised that when a representation has been made
by a detenu, it wgs the duty of the Government to dispose ol that
representation without undue delay. The decision in Durga Show
etc. v. The State of West Bengal(') was quoted with approval and
it was held that when there is an u.nexplained delay in conside-ing
and disposing of a representation made by a person who is detained
without trial nnder a special law relating to preventive detentio.n,
that by itself would be a sufficient ground for re'easing a detenu.
No doubt, it is also observed that if there is a delay, there must
be a satisfactory explanatioli. forthcoming from the Governme,nt
explaining the delay.
In its recent decision in Jayanarayan Sukul v. State of We.<t
Bengal('), after a review of the earlier decisions Ray, J., speaking
for the Court, has observed as follows :
"It is established beyond any measure of doubt that
the appropriate authority is bound to consider the
representation of the detenu as early as possib'e.
The
appropriate Government itself is bound to consider the
representation as expeditiously as possible. The reason
(I) Writ Petition No. 514of1970 decided on D<cember 18, 1970.
(2) W. P. Nos. 198, 205 and 2C6 of 1969 decided on Sept. 2, 1969.
(3) [1970] 3 S.C.R. 225.
1032
SUPREME C-OURT REPORTS
[1972] 1 S.C.R.
for immediate consideration of the representation is too
obvious to be stressed.
The personal liberty of a person
is at stake.
Any delay would not only be an irresponsible act on the part of the appropriate authority but also
anconstitutional because the Constitution enshrines the
fundamental right of a detenu to have his representation
considered and it is imperative that when the liberty of
a person is in peril immediate action should be taken
by the relevant authorities.
No definite time can be laid down within which a
representation of a detenu should be dealt with save and
except that it is a constitutional right of a detenu to
have his representation considered as expeditiously as
possible. It will depend upon the facts and circumstances
of each case whether the appropriate Government has
disposed of the case as expeditiously as
possible for
otherwise in words o.f Shela!, J., who spoke for this Court
in the case of Khairul Haque (1) "it is obvious that the
obligation to ;furnish the earliest opportunity to make a
representation loses both its purpose and meaning."
Broadly stated, four principles are to be followed in
regard to represer.tation of detenus.
First, the appropriate authority is bound to give an opportunity to the
detenu to make a representation and to consider the
representation of the detenu as early as possible.
Seci:>.ndly, the consideration of the representation of the
detenu by the appropriate autho-ity is entire'y independent of any action by the Advisory Board including the
consideration of the representation of the detenu bv •he
Advisory Board. Thirdly, there should not be any delay
in the matter of consideration.
It is true that no ha•d
and fast rule can be laid down as to the measure of time
taken by the appropriate authority for consi ~e-ation but
it has to be remembered that the Government has to be
vigilant in the governance of the citizens. A citizen's
right raises a correlative duty of the S'ate. Fourthly, the
appropriate Government is to exerci'e its opinion and
judgment on the representation before sending the case
along with the detenu's representation to th;: Advisory
Board. If the appropriate Government will re'ease the
detenu the Government will not send the matter to the
Advisory Board.
If however the Government will not
release the dete,nu the Government will send the case
along with the detenu's repre,entation to the Advisory
Board. If thereafter the Advisory Board will express an
(I) W. P. No. 246 of 1969 decided on 10-9-1969.
A
B
c
E
F
•
G
"
A
B
c
D
E
. '
K. J. SINGH v. MANIPUR (Vaidia/ingam, J.)
1033'
opinion in favour of release of the detenu the Governm~nt will release ~h~ detenu. If the Advisory Board
wtll express any opm1on against the release of the detenu
the Government may still exercise the power to releas~
the detenu."
Finally, it was held that the Government was guilty of infraaction of the constitutional provisions by an inordinate delay in the
c.onsideration of the representation and that there was no explanat10n offered for the inordinate delay.
Ultimately, the detenu was
directed to be set at liberty.
The various decisions, referred to above, no doubt deal with
detention under the Preventive Detention Act, 1950, but the
provisions of the Act, with which we are dealing, in all materi<.i
respects, are substantially similar to the Preventive Detention Act,
1950. Hence the principles laid down by this Court in the above
decisions apply on all fours to the matter on hand.
We have
already held that there is an unexplained delay of 17 days between
the date when the representation was received by the Administrator, namely, March 3, 1971 and when the latter c011sidered the
representation and passed the order rejecting the same on March
20, 1971. If that is so, without anything more, that circumstance
by itself is a sufficient ground for holding that the orders of detention of the petitioners are illegal and they are entitled to
]>:;
released.
We accordingly hold that the detention of the petitioners is
illegal and make the rule issued in a11 these writ petitions absolute
and direct the release of the petitioners forthwith unless they are
required in connection with any other ca'.e.
V.P.S .
Petitions allowed.
14-Ll !9SupCl/72