Preventive detention only to prevent public disorder: SC

• The Supreme Court held a judgment that Preventive detention, the dreaded power of the State to restrain a person without trial, could be used only to prevent public disorder.
• SC also gave directions to courts that preventive detention is a necessary evil only to prevent public disorder and the Court must ensure that the facts brought before it directly and inevitably lead to harm, danger or alarm or feeling of insecurity among the general public or any section thereof at large.

• The SC was hearing an appeal filed by the wife of the detenu against the Telangana HC order which dismissed her petition challenging the detention order.

The judgment made by the Court:

• To invoke a public detention law against someone, it is not enough that his/her actions pose a threat to law and order but must affect the public order
• The liberal meaning cannot be given to the expression of public order in the context of preventive detention statute.
• A possible apprehension of breach of law and order can be said to be made out if it is apprehended that the Detenu if set free, will continue to cheat gullible persons.
• This may be a good ground to appeal against the bail orders granted and/or to cancel bail but certainly cannot provide the springboard to move under a preventive detention statute.
• While it cannot seriously be disputed that the Detenu may be a ‘white-collar offender’, yet a Preventive Detention Order can only be passed if his activities adversely affect or are likely to adversely affect the maintenance of public order.
• The State should not arbitrarily resort to “preventive detention” to deal with all and sundry “law and order” problems, which could be dealt with by the ordinary laws of the country.
• Whenever an order under a preventive detention law is challenged, one of the questions the court must ask in deciding its legality is: was the ordinary law of the land sufficient to deal with the situation? If the answer is in the affirmative, the detention order will be illegal
• For example, if two drunks fighting on a road was a law and order problem, and not ‘public disorder’. The solution here was not preventive detention.
• Preventive detention must fall within the four corners of Article 21 (due process of law) read with Article 22 (safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention) and the statute in question.
• Court asserted that in a situation where the ordinary law of the land was sufficient to deal with the situation, the detention order will be illegal.

White-collar crime:

• It is a nonviolent crime committed for financial gain.
• The motivation for these crimes is ""to obtain or avoid losing money, property, or services or to secure a personal or business advantage.""

Preventive Detention:

• Preventive detention, the practice of incarcerating accused individuals before trial on the assumption that their release would not be in the best interest of society specifically, that they would be likely to commit additional crimes if they were released.
• Under Section 151 of The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) preventive detention is action taken on grounds of suspicion that some wrong actions may be done by the person concerned.
• A police officer can arrest an individual without orders from a Magistrate and without any warrant if he gets any information that such an individual can commit any offense.
• Article 22 of the Indian Constitution provides safeguards against the misuse of police powers to make arrests and detentions.
• Clause (4) of the article 22 states that no individual can be detained for more than 3 months unless a bench of High court judges or an Advisory board decides to extend the date.
• The clause(5) of the Article 22 states that the detained individual should be made aware of the grounds he/she has been detained (in pursuance of the order) and should provide him/her with an opportunity of making a representation against the case.

Difference between preventive detention and an arrest:

• Arrest: Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty four hours of such arrest.
• Preventive detention: a person is detained as he/she is simply restricted from doing something that might deteriorate the law and order situation.