'Deplorable': Allahabad High Court On Detention Order Passed After 10 Months Of Arrest, Without Application Of Mind

While dealing with a Habeas Corpus petition seeking release of detenue who had been in detention since 2024 but the detention order was passed after 10 months in 2025 without proper satisfaction being recorded, the Allahabad High Court observed that the state of affairs of criminal justice system was deplorable and needed to be looked into by the Government in public interest. Noting that no satisfaction was recorded in the detention order to show application of mind, the bench of Justice Siddhartha and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi observed“…the conduct of respondent nos. 3 & 4 is highly arbitrary and illegal. They have exercised their powers in violation of Articles 14, 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India. Despite being public servants, their conduct reflects scant respect for law of land the dereliction of duty on their part, which can be considered to be misconduct in service on their part, since they have failed to perform their duties in accordance with law.”Leaving it open for the employer to take action against the respondents, the Court observed “We find that this state of affairs is continuing for long despite numbers of orders passed by the courts quashing such illegal and non-speaking orders passed by detaining authorities.”Petitioner was detained under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PITNDPS Act). He approached the Court seeking his release on grounds that he had been in judicial custody since 2024, but the order of detention was passed on 08.08.2025 under Section 3(3) of the PITNDPS Act. It was pleaded that the petitioner was not supplied with documents relied on for detaining him. It was argued that the detention order was only based on the assumption that the petitioner would abscond and hamper the trial, when no satisfaction to that effect was recorded in the detention order which was passed 10 months after the petitioner was taken into custody. Perusing the order of detention, the Court observed that no 'satisfaction' was recorded in the order to keep the petitioner in custody. It noted that the order show lack of application of mind by the authorities. “Such a state of affairs is deplorable and needs to be redressed at the earliest by the Union Government in the larger interest of the criminal justice delivery system.”Relying on the decision of the Supreme Court in Mortuza Hussain Choudhary Vs. State of Nagaland and others, the Court held that the order was mechanical regarding the satisfaction being recorded and no reasons were provided with the satisfaction for detaining the petitioner and no grounds of detention had been recorded. Accordingly, the detention order was quashed, and petitioner was directed to be set at liberty. Case Title: Amit Singh v. Union of India and 5 others 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 226Case Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 226Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Deplorable': Allahabad High Court On Detention Order Passed After 10 Months Of Arrest, Without Application Of Mind

Upasna Agrawal

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