67 of 1953
Petition under article 32 of the Constitution of India for a writ in the nature of habeas corpus
Veda Vyas V N Sethi and section K Kapur with him for the petitioner
M C Setalvad Attorney General for India G N Joshi with him for the respondents
709 1953
April 16
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by PATANJALI SASTRI CJ
This is a petition under article 32 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ in the nature of habeas corpus directing the release of the petitioner Dr Ram Krishan Bhardwaj who is a medical practitioner in Delhi and is now said to be under unlawful detention
The petitioner was arrested on the 10th March 1953 under an order of the District Magistrate of Delhi made under section 3 of the Preventive Detention Act as amended
The grounds of detention were communicated to the petitioner on the 15th March 1953
The first paragraph of that communi cation states that  the Jan Sangh the Hindu Mahasabha and the Ram Rajya Parishad have started an unlawful campaign in sympathy with the Praja Parishad movement of Kashmir for defiance of the law involving violence and threat to the maintenance of public order  as evidenced by the sub paragraphs which follow
The incidents referred to in sub paragraphs a to 1 are said to have ranged from the 4th to the 10th March 1953 the date on which the petitioner was arrested but they do not directly implicate the petitioner
They merely give particulars of the alleged unlawful activities of the three political organizations referred to above
Subparagraph m is important as on it is founded the first contention of Mr Veda Vyas the learned counsel for the petitioner
It runs as follows m On the evening of 11th March 1953 there was very heavy brick batting indulged in by or at the instance of Jan Sangh and Mahasabha workers in Sabzimandi when the police dispersed a Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha procession and several persons including policemen journalists and other non officials were injured
An assault was made on Miss Mridula Sarabhai and Sri Dan Dayal one of her associates received a stab injury
 710 It will be noticed that the incidents related in the sub paragraph are alleged to have taken place on the 11th March the day after the petitioner was arrested and detained
Mr Veda Vyas relies upon it as showing that the District Magistrate did not apply his mind to the alleged necessity for the detention of the petitioner as if he had done so he could not possibly have referred to what happened on the 11th March as a ground of justification for what he did on the 10th The so called grounds on which the detention is said to have been based must it was suggested have been prepared by some clerk or subordinate in the District Magistrate s office and mechanically signed by him
The learned Attorney General explained that the incidents of the 11th March were referred to not as a ground for the arrest and detention of the petitioner but merely as evidencing the unlawful activities of the movement organized by the Jan Sangh and the other political bodies of which the petitioner was an active member
The explanation is hardly convincing and we cannot but regard this lapse in chronology as a mark of carelessness
Notwithstanding repeated admonition by this Court that due care and attention must be bestowed upon matters involving the liberty of the individual it is distressing to find that such matters are dealt with in a careless and casual manner
In view however of the statements in the affidavit filed by the District Magistrate before us that he carefully perused and considered the reports
and materials placed before him by responsible Intelligence Officers and that he was fully satisfied that the petitioner was assisting the movement and agitation started by the Jan Sangh etc
 we are not prepared to hold that the District Magistrate failed to apply his mind to the relevant considerations before he made the detention order as suggested for the petitioner
The second contention raised by Mr Veda Vyas is more formidable
As already stated the first paragraph of the statement
of grounds while it sets out the unlawful activities of the three political bodies 711 does not directly implicate the petitioner in any of them
The second paragraph shows how the petitioner was concerned in those activities
It begins by stating  The following facts show that you are personally helping and actively participating in the above mentioned movement which has resulted in violence and threat to maintenance of public order
Then follow four sub paragraphs a to d which refer to private meetings of the Working Committee of the Jan Sangh in January and February 1953 where it is alleged it was decided to launch and intensify the campaign and the petitioner made inflammatory speeches
Sub paragraph e on which this contention is based runs thus  e You have been organising the movement by enrolling volunteers among the refugees in your capacity as President of the Refugee Association of the Bara Hindu Rao a local are in Delhi
It is argued by Mr Veda Vyas that this ground is extremely vague and gives no particulars to enable the petitioner to make an adequate representation against the order of detention and thus infringes the constitutional safeguard provided in article 22 5
Learned counsel relies on the decision in Atma Ram Vaidya s case1 where this Court held by a majority that the person detained is entitled in addition to the right to have the grounds of his detention communicated to him to a further right to have particulars  as full and adequate as the circumstances permit  furnished to him so as to enable him to make a representation against the order of detention
It was further held that the sufficiency of the particulars conveyed in the  second communication  is a justiciable issue the test being whether it is sufficient to enable the detained person to make a representation  which on being considered may give relief to the detained person
On this interpretation of article 22 6 two questions arise for consideration  first whether the ground mentioned in subparagraph e is so vague i 712 as to render it difficult if not impossible for the peti tioner to make an adequate representation to the appropriate authorities and second if it is vague whether on vague ground among others which are clear and definite would infringe the constitutional safeguard provided in article 225
On the first question the Attorney General argued that the grounds must be read as a whole and so read the ground mentioned in sub paragraph e could reasonably be taken to mean that the petitioner was organizing the movement by enrolling volunteers from the 4th to 10th March in the area known as Bara Hindu Rao
This interpretation is plausible but the petitioner who is a layman not experienced in the interpretation of documents can hardly be expected without legal aid which is denied to him to interpret the ground in the sense explained by the AttorneyGeneral
Surely it is up to the detaining authority to make his meaning clear beyond doubt without leaving the person detained to his own resource for interpreting the grounds
We must therefore hold that the the ground mentioned in sub paragraph e of paragraph 2 is vague in the sense explained above
On the second question there is no considered pronouncement by this Court though in some cases it would appear to have been assumed in the absence of any argument that one or two vague grounds could not affect the validity of the detention where there are other sufficiently clear and definite grounds to support the detention
Mr Veda Vyas now argues that even though the petitioner might succeed in rebutting the other grounds to the satisfaction of the Advisory Board his representation might fail to carry conviction so far as the ground mentioned in sub paragraph e was concerned in the absence of particulars which he could rebut and the Advisory Board might therefore recommend the continuance of his detention
The argument is not without force as the possibility suggested cannot altogether be ruled out
The Attorney General drew attention to the recent amendment of section 10 of the Preventive Detention 713 Act as a result of which the petitioner would be entitled to be heard in person before the Advisory Board if he so desires and it was said that he would thus have the opportunity of getting the necessary particulars through the Board who could call upon the appropriate Government to furnish particulars if the Board thought that the demand for them was in the circumstances just and reasonable
The petitioner would thus suffer no hardship or prejudice by reason of sufficient particulars not having been already furnished to him
The question however is not whether the petitioner will in fact be prejudicially affected in the matter of securing his release by his representation but whether his constitutional safeguard has been infringed
Preventive detention is a serious invasion of personal liberty and such meagre safeguards as the Constitution has provided against the improper exercise of the power must be jealously watched and enforced by the Court
In this case the petitioner has the right under article 225 as interpreted by this Court by a majority to be furnished with particulars of the grounds of his detention sufficient to enable him to make a representation which on being considered may give relief to him
 We are of opinion that this constitutional requirement must be satisfied with respect to each of the grounds communicated to the person detained subject of course to a claim of privilege under clause 6 of article 22
That not having been done in regard to the ground mentioned in sub paragraph e of paragraph 2 of the statement of grounds the petitioner s detention cannot be held to be in accordance with the procedure established by law within the meaning of article 21
The petitioner is therefore entitled to be released and we accordingly direct him to be set at liberty forthwith
Petition allowed
Agent for the petitioner  Ganpat Rai
Agent for the respondent  G H Rajadhyaksha


Summary:
Under article 21 5 as interpreted by an earlier decision of this court a person detained under the Preventive Detention Act is entitled in addition to the right to have the ground of his detention communicated to him to a further right to have particulars as full and adequate as the circumstances permit furnished to him as to enable him to make a representation against the order of detention and the sufficiency of particulars conveyed in the second communication is a justiciable issue the test being whether they are sufficient to enable the detained person to make a representation which on being considered may give him relief
The constitutional requirement that the grounds must not be vague must be satisfied with respect to each of the grounds communicated to the person detained subject to the claim of privilege under el
6 of article 22 of the Constitution
Where one of the grounds mentioned was you have been organising the movement Praja Parishad Movement by enrolling volunteers among the refugees in your capacity as President of the Refugee Association of Bara Hindu Rao Held that this ground was vague and even though the other grounds were not vague the detention was not in accordance with the procedure established by law and was therefore illegal
Dictum Preventive detention is a serious invasion of personal liberty and such meagre safeguards as the Constitution has provided against the improper exercise of the power must be jealously watched and enforced by the Court