New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Friday said preventive detention is a serious invasion of personal liberty.

A bench of Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and JB Pardiwala said that in view of the object of the preventive detention, it becomes very imperative on the part of the detaining authority as well as the executing authorities to remain vigilant and keep their eyes skinned but not to turn a blind eye in passing the detention order.

"The preventive detention is a serious invasion of personal liberty and the normal methods open to a person charged with commission of any offence to disprove the charge or to prove his innocence at the trial are not available to the person preventively detained," said the bench.

Petitioner Sushanta Kumar Banik was detained under Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act.

He moved the apex court challenging the Tripura High Court order, passed on June 1 this year, rejecting his application questioning the legality and validity of the detention order passed by the Tripura government on November 12, 2021, and affirmed the detention order.

The top court noted that it appears the order of preventive detention came to be passed essentially on the ground that in the past two FIRs registered against the appellant for the offences punishable under various sections of NDPS Act and he is a habitual offender.

The bench said in prevention detention jurisprudence whatever little safeguards the Constitution and the enactments authorising such detention provide assume utmost importance and must be strictly adhered to.

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Setting aside the high court judgment, the top court said: "The order of preventive detention passed by the state of Tripura dated November 12, 2021 is hereby quashed and set aside. The appellant herein is ordered to be released forthwith from custody if not required in any other case."