# Failure to inform right to represent makes detention illegal: SC 2026-08-07T15:41:44+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Supreme Court has ruled that a preventive detention order is illegal if the detaining authority fails to inform the detenu of the right to make a representation before it, even if the detenu independently submitted such a representation. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside a detention order under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, noting that the detenu was told he could represent to the State Government, the Advisory Board and the Central Government, but not to the officer who made the order. The court held that this omission violates Article 22(5) of the Constitution and cannot be cured by the detenu having addressed one representation to the detaining authority. The appeal, filed by the detenu's wife, challenged a Kerala High Court order confirming the detention. The Supreme Court quashed the detention order, leading to the release of the detenu after nearly seven months in illegal custody. ## Coverage - livelaw.in Tags: Article 22, fundamental rights, Kerala, PITNDPS Act, preventive detention, Supreme Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/failure-to-inform-right-to-represent-makes-detention-illegal-sc/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/failure-to-inform-right-to-represent-makes-detention-illegal-sc/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.