SALEEM Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) COUNTER-affidavit of Shashi Srivastava, Senior Superintendent of District Jail, Gonda be taken on record.

(2.) HEARD Sri Krishna Kumar Singh, learned Counsel for the petitioner. Sri S. K. Singh and its authorities and Sri B. B. Saxena, learned Counsel for the Union of India.

(3.) THE main submission from the side of the petitioner is that there was an unexplained delay in disposal of the representation given to the State Government. He says that the detenu, submitted his representation on 1/5-2-2002 from jail for being forwarded to the State Government. Learned Counsel says that this representation reached the District Magistrate on the same date, but the District Magistrate instead of forwarding the same to the State Government called for the comments from the sponsoring authority namely the police and these comments came as late as on 6-5-2002 and it was thereafter that the representation was forwarded and sent to the State Government which reached the Government on 9-5-2002. His submission is that calling for the comments of the sponsoring authority was not necessary and not permissible as the entire material was before the District Magistrate when he passed the detention order. He has referred to Sant Singh v. District Magistrate, Varanasi and others, 2000 (1) JIC 438 (All), in support of his arguments, wherein this Court has taken the view that the delay in disposal of the representation cannot be explained by referring to the period consumed by the detaining authority in waiting for the comments from the sponsoring authority.