HARIKISAN Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated July 11, 1961, of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court's (Nagpur Bench), dismissing the appellant's application, under Art. 226 of the Constitution, read with S. 491 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, wherein he had prayed for a writ of Habeas Corpus against the State of Maharashtra and the District Magistrate of Nagpur, directing them to produce the petitioner in Court and to set him at liberty. This application was heard by us on January 8 and 9, 1962, and alter hearing Shri A. S. Bobde for the appellant and the learned Attorney-General for the State of Maharashtra we directed that the appellant be released forthwith and that the reasons for our judgment will follow later. We now proceed to set out our reasons for the order passed on that day.

(2.) It appears that an order of Detention, under S. 3 (1)(a)(ii) of the Preventive Detention Act (IV of 1950) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) was made by the District Magistrate of Nagpur on April 10, 1961. The order of Detention is in these terms:

(3.) In this connection, it is necessary to state the following facts. The appellant wrote a letter to the District Magistrate of Nagpur on April 19, 1961, to the effect that had been served with an Order of Detention Dated April 10, 1961, and that the order and the grounds of detention being in English, he was unable to understand them and, therefore, asked for a Hindi version of the same so that he may be able to follow and understand the charges levelled against him and take necessary steps for his release from jail. He raised some other questions also in that letter, but it is not necessary to refer to them here. To that letter the District Magistrate replied by his letter dated April 23, 1961 the second paragraph of which, in the following terms, sets out his views of the matter :