VIJAY PAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER has been detained under the National Security Act by the order dated 6.9.2008, passed by District Magistrate, Ghaziabad exercising power under Section 3 (3) of the National Security Act. The detention order of the petitioner is Anenxure-2 to this habeas corpus petition. The grounds on which the petitioner has been detained was served on the detenu-petitioner and is contained in Annexure-3.

(2.) THE reasons for detention of the petitioner, as is culled out from the grounds, are that petitioner was dealing in fake currency notes and thereby he had disturbed the public peace and tempo of even life.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner contended that according to the case of Union of India, respondent No. 1, it had received the record from the State Government under Section 3 (5) of the National Security Act on 22nd September, 2008. LEARNED counsel submitted that after receiving of the said record, Union of India did not consider the detenu's case before expiry of 8 days, i.e., 30th September, 2008. LEARNED counsel submitted that no explanation has been offered for the occasioned said delay by the Union of India from 22nd September, 2008 till 30th September, 2008, which makes the detention order vulnerable, liable to be quashed. LEARNED counsel, therefore, submitted that the detention order is vitiated because of the above unexplained delay and deserves to be set aside. In support of the said contention learned counsel for the petitioner invited our attention to paragraphs 4 and 6 of the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the Union of India alongwith para 3 of the supplementary counter-affidavit filed by the same authority. For the purpose of appreciation of the above contention, we reproduce the aforesaid paragraphs hereinbelow :