By The Sampadak Express
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the immediate release of a law student from Madhya Pradesh who was detained under the National Security Act (NSA), calling the detention “wholly untenable” and finding multiple legal lapses in the process.
A bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and K Vinod Chandran passed the order while hearing the appeal of law student Annu alias Aniket, who had been in custody since July 11, 2024, following an altercation with a professor at a university campus in Betul. An FIR had been filed against him on charges including attempt to murder. While he was lodged in jail, a preventive detention order under the NSA was issued against him and subsequently extended every three months. His detention was set to last until July 12, 2025.
After reviewing the case, the top court held that the grounds cited for Annu’s preventive detention did not satisfy the legal requirements under Section 3(2) of the NSA. The bench observed that the reasons given for invoking the NSA were inadequate and procedurally flawed.“
We find that the appellant has been taken into preventive detention under Section 3(2) of the NSA. However, the reasons cited do not meet the legal threshold. The detention is therefore wholly untenable,” the court stated in its order.
The court further pointed out significant procedural violations, including the failure of the District Magistrate to forward Annu’s representation against the detention to the state government. It also criticized the authorities for not justifying why preventive detention was needed when the accused was already in custody under regular criminal proceedings.
The bench directed, “The appellant, currently lodged at Central Jail, Bhopal, shall be released forthwith from custody if he is not required in any other criminal case.”
According to the state, Annu had nine criminal cases against him, including the latest. However, his counsel clarified that he had been acquitted in five, fined in one, and was out on bail in the remaining two. In the latest case from 2024, Annu was granted bail on January 28, 2025, yet he continued to be detained solely under the NSA.
Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Annu’s father on February 25, upholding the NSA detention based on the District Magistrate’s subjective satisfaction and citing Annu’s alleged history as a habitual offender and a threat to public peace.
The Supreme Court has stated that a detailed reasoned judgment will follow.
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