In Brief
The appellant, a constable with seven criminal complaints/FIRs registered against him, was detained under Section 3(1) of the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1981, by detention order dated 10 October 2016. The detention order failed to specify any period of detention. The High Court dismissed his writ petition. The Supreme Court held that preventive detention statutes require strict interpretation. The statute mandates that detention orders must specify the detention period, with a maximum cap of six months initially. A blanket detention order without specifying the period violates statutory procedure and legislative intent to enable periodic review. The Court allowed the appeal and set aside the detention order as unsustainable, ordering the detenu's immediate release.
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