In Brief
The appellant, director of a hospital, was detained under the National Security Act for procuring and administering spurious Remdesivir injections during the Covid-19 pandemic. He made a representation on 18 May 2021, but the State Government rejected it only on 15 July 2021 (nearly 60 days later), and neither the Central nor State Government communicated the rejection to him promptly. The Supreme Court held the detention order invalid on two procedural grounds: (1) the unexplained delay by the State Government in considering the representation, violating Article 22(5)'s mandate for expeditious consideration; and (2) failure to communicate the rejection timely to the detenu. The Court emphasized that consideration of representations must be independent of and not await the Advisory Board's decision. The appeal was allowed and the detention order quashed.
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