Now Reading: Punjab and Haryana HC quashes woman’s detention over 45-day delay in informing rights
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Punjab and Haryana HC quashes woman’s detention over 45-day delay in informing rights
Punjab and Haryana HC quashes woman’s detention over 45-day delay in informing rights
The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the preventive detention of a woman under the PITNDPS Act, ruling that authorities violated her fundamental right under Article 22(5) by failing to promptly inform…
The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the preventive detention of a woman under the PITNDPS Act, ruling that authorities violated her fundamental right under Article 22(5) by failing to promptly inform her of her right to make a representation to the Central Government. Justice Virinder Aggarwal noted a 45-day delay in apprising the detenue of that right and further delays of nearly three months in forwarding her representation and five months in its rejection.
The court found delay at every step, calling the lapses a flagrant violation of constitutional safeguards. The woman had been detained on November 1, 2025, after a previous detention was set aside by the Advisory Board in July 2025. Her representation to the Central Government, submitted on December 24, 2025, was rejected only on June 2, 2026. The court held that the authorities offered no cogent explanation for the delays, and that each day's delay matters in cases concerning personal liberty.
Indian Opinion Analysis
This is the second time within a year that the same individual has been ordered detained and then released by a court. The earlier detention was overturned by the Advisory Board in July 2025, yet the Chandigarh Administration issued a fresh order in November 2025 based partly on the same old material. Article 22(5) of the Constitution guarantees that a detenue must be told immediately of her right to represent, and any delay, even hours, has been held by the Supreme Court to break the detention. The High Court here treated each missed date as a separate failure: informing took 45 days, forwarding the representation took three months, and the Centre took five months to decide. The Home Secretary of the Chandigarh Administration now has no valid detention order. Whether the Administration tries a third detention using a fresh FIR is the next question.
Source: livelaw.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
