NANGBUAIA Vs. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this matter the petitioner sent an application from his place of detention at Silchar Jail to this Court for his release challenging the validity of the order made under the National Security Act by the District Magistrate, Lunglei, Mizoram. Mr. B. Tanti, Advocate, was appointed by the Court as the counsel for the petitioner as it was a Habeas Corpus matter and upon hearing counsel for both sides a Rule Nisi was issued on 29.11.1982. Pursuant thereto no return was filed on behalf of respondent No. 2 and when the matter came up for hearing on 25.1.83 before this Court Mr. Tanti submitted that on 16.2.83 (sic) the detenu was already in custody and therefore the activity attributed to him on that day in the ground No. 2(c) made the ground non -existent. We passed an order on that date directing the respondents to ascertain the fact and file affidavit on this aspect of the matter. Accordingly, an affidavit has been filed in this case on 9.2.83. The relevant statement at para 2 of the affidavit which is extracted below:

(2.) THAT with regard to the allegations made by the petitioner through his counsel at the time of hearing of the present case that he was in judicial custody from 25.1.82 to 1.3.82 and as such the last part of ground No. (C) is non -existent; the deponent begs to state that the date 16.2.82 appearing in para (C) of the grounds of detention is a typing mistake and that the same should be read as 16.12.81 in place of 16.2.82. The deponent further begs to state that the said fact was also pointed out before the Advisory Board and that the said date was corrected as 16.12.81.

(3.) WE , accordingly, hold that ground No. 2(C) being irrelevant; the detention order is invalid and is liable to be struck down. We quash and set aside the order and direct the detenu to be released forthwith. The Rule is made absolute and the petition is allowed.