Supreme Court issues notice to Telangana govt on petition challenging police’s preventive detention of accused released on bail

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Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Saturday issued notice to the Telangana government and sought its response within a week while hearing a petition which alleged that the police, after the accused released on bail, put him under preventive detention by moving the designated authority invoking the provisions of Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities.

The three-judge bench comprised of R F Nariman, K.M. Joseph and B.R. Gavai finds it surprising that grant of bail to an accused had no practical meaning in Telangana as the state police could invoke provisions of the Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act to put a person under preventive detention for the same offences for which he had been granted bail by the Court.

Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, Counsel for the accused, informed the Court that, a stock trader, was accused of duping five persons and five FIRs were registered by the Medchal police station under the Cyberabad police commissioner. In all five cases, the accused was granted bail, but soon after the courts released him on bail, the police put him under preventive detention by invoking the provisions of Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities, the Counsel added.

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The Counsel further argued that powers under preventive detention law should be sparingly used by the authorities only if the danger of the commission of a crime is real and proximate as preventive detention is against the constitutional ethos. The Police authority exercised its powers under Section 3 of the P D Act to put the accused under detention immediately after he was ordered to be released on bail, which violates the right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution since the trial court has examined the gravity of the offences and quality of evidence before granting bail to him in all five FIRs.

“It is a draconian law clearly against the liberty of persons. It is surprising that no one has challenged the validity of the law,” the Court said while issuing notice to the state.