SANJU DEVRE Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner has challenged his detention under Section 3 (2) of the National Security Act, 1980 (in short "the Act") by the District Magistrate, Bhopal.

(2.) THE facts in brief are these. THE District Magistrate, Bhopal, by exercising powers conferred under Section 3 (2) of the Act, passed an order dated 4-3-2009 for the detention of petitioner in Central Jail, Bhopal. THE case of petitioner was then referred to the Advisory Board which reported that, in its opinion, there was sufficient cause for his detention. THE State Government then confirmed the detention order of petitioner for a period of 12 months from the date of his detention till 3-3-2010. Aggrieved, the petitioner has filed the present petition praying for quashing of the order of detention.

(3.) IT is now well settled that there must be a live link between the grounds of criminal activities alleged by the Detaining Authority and the purpose of detention (See : Golam Hussain Vs. Commissioner of Police, Calcutta, AIR 1974 SC 1336) and this credible chain is snapped if there is too long and unexplained an interval between the offending acts and the order of detention (See : Lakshman Khatik Vs. The State of West Bengal, AIR 1974 SC 1264). But the Supreme Court has also observed that no mechanical test by counting the months of the interval is sound and it all depends on the nature of the acts relied on, grave and determined or less serious and corrigible, on the length of the gap, short or long, on the reason for the delay in taking preventive action, like information of participation being available only in the course of an investigation.