In Brief
The Supreme Court held that a petition challenging an Advisory Board's opinion under the COFEPOSA Act is not maintainable in court. The Advisory Board, constituted under Article 22(4) of the Constitution to review preventive detention orders, performs an advisory—not judicial—function. Its opinion is binding on the government only when it finds no sufficient cause for detention; the report's reasoning is confidential. The Court, following established precedent, held that the opinion cannot be scrutinized by courts because the Board does not function as a judicial tribunal and the proceedings lack normal adversarial safeguards like cross-examination.
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