SUDHA Vs. ADDITIONAL SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the wife of the detenu viz., Sekar @ Rajasekar, Son of Meenachisundaram, aged about 37 years. The detenu has been detained by order in P.D.No.16/2018 dated 06.04.2018, holding him to be a "Black Marketer", as contemplated under Section 3(2)(a) r/w 3(1) of the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980. The said order is under challenge in this Habeas Corpus Petition.

(2.) We have heard learned counsel for petitioner, learned Central Government Standing Counsel for first respondent and learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for respondents 2 to 5. We have also perused the records produced by the Detaining Authority.

(3.) Though several grounds have been raised in the Habeas Corpus Petition, learned counsel for the petitioner would mainly focus his argument on the ground that there is gross violation of procedural safeguards, which would vitiate the detention. The learned counsel, by placing authorities, submitted that the arrest of the detenu in the ground case has been intimated by S.M.S. However, no proof of having done so has been produced.