Prayagraj, Aug 6 The Allahabad High Court has expressed concern over the passing of preventive detention orders under the PIT-NDPS Act without application of mind and asked the Centre to redress the issue at the earliest in the larger interest of the criminal justice delivery system.
Allowing a habeas corpus petition filed by one Gurmel Singh accused in a criminal case registered under the provisions of NDPS Act, a bench of Justices Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi quashed the petitioner's preventive detention under Section 3(1) of the PIT-NDPS Act, 1988 and directed to release him forthwith.
The impugned detention order was passed on January 2, 2026, when the detenu was already in judicial custody in an NDPS case.
The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act or PIT-NDPS Act provides for the preventive detention of habitual offenders involved in drug trafficking.
The court noted that although the grounds of detention merely stated that Gurmel Singh was attempting to secure bail, the detaining authority failed to record any cogent material or subjective satisfaction demonstrating an imminent/real possibility of the detenu's release on bail, or why preventive detention was imperative while he was already in judicial custody.
It further observed that the state government had paid "mere lip service" to the mandatory requirements of law by mechanically stating that detention was necessary to prevent the petitioner from engaging in illicit trafficking.
The bench said that the detaining authority must be "reasonably satisfied on the basis of cogent material" that there was likelihood of detenu of indulging in certain criminal acts on being released from jail.
"The 'reasons to believe' should be based on reliable material and real possibility of detenu misusing his liberty in case of release from jail," it said in its judgment dated July 31.
