Criminal Appeal No 310  363 of 1976
From the Judgments and Orders dated the 1st September 1975 of the Bombay High Court in Criminal Appln
No 2075 and Criminal Appeals Nos
 348 349 350 195 201 170 176  Crl
181 182 of 1976
Appeals by Special Leave Petitions from the Judgments and Orders dated the 14th18th July 1975 9th July 1975 3rd April 1976 13th March 1976 and 19th March 1975 of the Bombay High Court in Criminal Appln
Nos 794 78475 833 83976 and 61462076 and 385 38676 respectively and Criminal Appeal No 397 of 1976
Appeals by Special Leave from the Judgments and Orders dated the 23rd March 1976 and 6th April 1976 of the Karna taka High Court in Writ Petitions Nos 1454 and 209676 respectively and Criminal Appeal No 397 of 1976
From the Judgment and Order dated the 3rd September 1975 of the Bombay High Court in Criminal Application No 79275 and CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No 573 of 1976
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated the 26th March 1976 of the Bombay High Court in Criminal Appln
No 31 of 1976 and Special Leave Petitions Civil Nos
2443 2444 2864 3061 of 1976
From the Judgments  orders dated 8 4 76 7 4 76 12 4 76  8 4 76 of the Karnataka High Court in WP Nos
291876 669375 1977 2012  129576 and Dy
3002  3003 0f 1976
From the Judgments and Orders dated the 8 4 1976 of the Karnataka High Court in Writ Petitions Nos
2355 and 1968 of 1976 respectively and Civil Appeals Nos
1365 1367 of 1976
From the Judgment and Order dated the 23 3 1976 of the Karnataka High Court in Writ Petitions Nos 2293 2477 and 250376 respectively and 723 Civil Appeal No 434 of 1976
From the Judgment and Order dated the 1 4 1976 of the Karnataka High Court in IA No IV in Writ Petition No 4177 of 1970
Narayan Nettar for the appellants in Crl
A 210 and CAs Nos
1365 136776 and Crl
A 192 and for Petitioners in SLPs Civil Nos
2443 2444 2864 2865 and 306176 and R 3 in CA 43476
VP Raman Addl
In Crl
A 310 348 397 195 and 18176 Ms RN Sachthey and MN Shroff with him for the Appellant in Crl
A 310 348 397 349 350 363 170 176 181182 add 195 201 and CA 57376 and 43476 and for R 3 in Crl
A 310 and 348 and RR 2 and 4 in Crl
A 35076
Jail Petitioners for the Petitioners in Petn
Under Dy
No 3002 300376
HM Seervai In Crl
A Nos 310 340 349 363 and CA 573 76 Ashok H Desai AJ Rane
In CA 57376 L R Gagrat and BR Agarwala for RR 1 and 2 in Crl
A 310 363 and 397 and R 1 in Crl
348 349 and RR in CA 57376
AK Sen RH Dhebar and BV Desai for R 1 in Crl
A No 35076
VM Tarkunde Ashok H Desai and VN Ganpule for RR in Crl
A 170 to 176 181 182 195 20176
HM Seervai Dr N M Ghatate section Balakrishnan section section Khanduja Miss Rani Jethamalani and Altar Ahmed for R 1 in CA 43476
The Judgment of AN Ray CJ and Jaswant Singh J was delivered by Jaswant Singh J Beg J gave a separate opinion
JASWANT SINGH J
These appeals some of which have been preferred by certificates granted under Articles 133 and 1341e of the Constitution and Others by Special leave granted by this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution and which are directed against various final and interim judgments and orders of the High Courts of Bombay and Karna taka passed in writ petitions filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution by or on behalf of certain persons who are detained under orders of the appropriate authorities made under section 3 of the Act No 52 of 1974 hereinafter referred to as the Act  complaining of certain constraints imposed on them under orders made under section 5 of the Act and claiming facilities in excess of those provided in the said orders shall be disposed 0f by this judgment
A gist of the orders appealed against 12 112SCI77 724 and particulars of the petitions in which they have been passed given in the sub joined table for facility of refer ence  FIRST BATCH OF APPEALS 1Sr
No 2No
of appeal 3
Date of the order appealed against 4
No of the application in which the order appealed against has been passed 5
Name of the High Court which passed the order 6
Name of the detenu in whose favour or against whom the order against has been passed
substance of the order appealed against Sr
No 1 2
3101976 3
1 9 1975 4
Application No 201975 5
Bombay 6
Krishna Budha Gawda 7
Clauses 9iii 10 12iand xi 19 20 21 23 24 and 31 of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smugling Activities Maharashtra Conditions of Deten tion Order 1974 struck down and directions issued requiring the detaining authority to keep the detenu under detention as a civil prisoner  within the terms of and in all respects in conformity with the provi sions of the and further directing the detaining authority topermit the detenu to maintain himself by receiving such funds not exceeding the sum of Rs 200 per month us he may desire to have lot that purpose from any of his rela tives or friends and to purchase or receive from private sources at proper hours food
clothing bedding and other necessaries including toilet requisites toilet soap
cigarettes and tobacco subject to examina tion gild to such rules if any as may be approved by the Inspector General  as also to permit the detenu to meet persons with whom he may desire to communicate at proper times anti tinder proper restrictions
No 2
A No 3
do Sr
No 3 2
A No 3971976 3
3 9 1975 4
Application No 7921975 5
Bombay ram Kewalji 6
Ghamandi Gowani 7
Nil SECOND BATCH OF APPEALS Sr No1
A No3481976 3
Interim order dated 14 7 1975 4
Application No 7941975 5
Bombay 6
Ramlal Narang 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority to permit the detenu 1 to have his food from out side at his own expense subject to routine check 2 to have one interview with his legal advisers for two hours in the presences 725 of a Customs Officer but not within Iris hearing 3 to have one interview per month with ally Of tile Family members which should be in accordance with and subject to subclauses iii vi vii and ixof clause 12 of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smug gling Activities Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974
No 3481976 3
Interim order dated 14 7 1975 4
Application No 7941975 5
Bombay 6
Yusuf Abdulla Patel 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority 1 to permit the detenu to have his food from outside at his own expense subject to routine check2 to have the detenu exam ined at least once a week by Doctors at St George s Hospital and to permit the detenu s doctor being present at such examination
3 to permit the detenu to take specially prescribed medicines at his own cost4 not to remove the detenu to another jail from the Arthur Road Prison Bombay without giving at least 24 hours notice in writing excluding Sundays and other holidays to his Attorneys 5 to permit the detenu to have one interview with his legal advis ers for two hours in the presence of a Customs Officer but not within his hear ing and 6 to permit the detenu to have interview with relatives as per clause 12ii of Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974
THIRD BATCH OF APPEALS Sr
No 1 2
195 2011976 3
3 4 1976 4
Applications 833 8391976 5
Bombay 6
Ratan Singh Gokaldas Rajda  others 7
Directions issued to the detaining au thority to have the detenus taken under custody to the site of the meeting of the Bombay Municipal Corporation and enable them to exercise their votes at the mayoral electionif and when it takes place
No 2 2
Nos 170 1761976 3 13 3 1975 4
Applications 614 6201975 5
Bombay 6
Ahilya Pandurang Rangankar and others 7
While rejecting the application for release on parole directions issued the detaining in authority to have the detenus taken under custody to vote at the election of statutory Com mittees to be held on 15 3 1976 at 3 PM at the Bombay Municipal Corporation Bom bay
726 Sr
No 3 2
181 1821976 3
19 3 1976 4
Applications Nos
385 3861976 5
Bombay 6
Ganesh Prabhakar Pradhan and others 7
Directions issued to the detaining author ity to have the the detenus taken under custo dy to the Maharashtra Legislative Council Hall for the limited purpose of enabling them to exercise their right to the statutory Committ ess on 30 3 1976
No 4 2
Crl As
1365 671976 3
23 3 1976 4
W Ps
2293 2477 25031976 5
Karnataka 6
CR satish and Others 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority to have the detenus taken not later than 11 AM on 24 3 1976 under police escort to the place where the election of the President of the Town Municipal Council Chikmaglur was to be held and after they exercised their right to vote to have them brought back under police escort to the jails in which they were then detained
No 5 2
CA Nos
4341976 3 1 4 1976 4
IA No IV WP No 41771976 5
Karnataka 6
LK Advani 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority to have the detenu taken under police escort to New Delhi so as to enable him to be in Rajya Sabha on 3 4 1976 before 1045 AM and to allow him to take oath of affirma tion and thereafter to take his seat in Rajya Sabha and to have him brought back under police escort to the Central Jail Banglore on 3 4 1976 or on 4 4 1976 whichever date is convenient to the detaining authority
FOURTH BATCH OF APPEALS Sr No 1 2
A No 1921976 3
23 3 1976 4
WP Nos 14541973 5
Karnataka 6
Gurunath Kulkarni 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority 1 to have the detenu taken under police escort on or before 3 4 1976 to the shops in Bellary to enable them to purchase stationary required for the examination and to the college where detenu had 10 get the admission ticket to the examination
2 to have the detenu taken on each day of the examination under police escort from the jail at Bellary to the Examination centre and to see that he reached such centre at least 20 minutes before the commencement of the examination and was brought back after the day s examination was over from such centre to the jail under police escort
Directions also issued to the jail authorities to ascertain well in advance the programme of the examination which the detenu had to take
727 Sr
No 2 2
A No 2101976 3 6 4 1976 4
WP No 20961976 5
Karnataka 6KT Shivanna 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority to release the detenu on parole on the afternoon of 10 4 1976
The detaining authority also directed to arrange to have the detenu either taken under police escort to his home at Novavirakare Tiprut Talu starting from Bangalore on the afternoon of 10 4 1976 and to have him brought back under police escort from his home to the Central Jail Bangalore starting from Honavinskere on the afternoon of 12 4 1976 OR release the detenu at the gate of the Central jail Bangalore on his executing a self bound for Rs 6000 undertaking to surrender himself to the jail authorities on 12 4 1976 not later than 6 PM and not take part in political activ ities or other activities detrimental to the security of the State during the period he remained on parole
The police however given the liberty to keep a watch around the detenu s house and to follow his movements outside his house during the period he continued on parole
No 3 2
SLPCivil No 24431976 3 8 4 1976 4
WP No29181972 5
Karnataka 6 KANagaraj 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority 1 to release the detenu on pa role 2 to have the detenu taken on the evening of 9 4 1976 under police escort to his houses and brought back to the Central Jail Bangalore
under police escort on the evening of 10 4 1976 and 3 again have the detenu taken on the evening 01 14 4 1976 under police escort to his house and brought back under police escort to the Central Jail Bangalore on the evening of 15 4 1976
The police however given tile liberty to keep a watch around the house of the detenu and to follow his movements during the period he remained on parole
No 4 2
SLPCivil No 24441976 3
8 4 1976 4
WP No66931975 5
Karnataka 6
PBSatyanarayana Rao 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority to release the detenu on parole on 14 4 1976 and to have him taken under police escort to his home and brought back under police escort to the jail On the afternoon of 16 4 1976
The police howev er given the liberty to keep a watch around the house of the detenu and to watch his movement outside his house during his release on parole
728 Sr No 5 2
SLPCivil No 28641976 3 7 4 1976 4
WP No 19771976 5
Karnataka 6
MSanjeev Gatti 7
Directions issued to the detaining author ity either i to arrange the detenu taken under police escort to his native place
Bangalore starting from Bangalore on 8 4 1976 and brought back under police escort to the Central Jail Bangalore on 14 4 1976
and ii to release the detenu at the gate of the Central Jail
Bangalore
on the morning of 8 4 1976 his executing a sell bond of Rs 5000 undertaking to surrender himself to the jail authorities not later than 5 PM on 15 4 1976 and not to take part in any political activity or other activity detrimental to the security of the State
The police however given the liberty to keep a watch around the house houses in which the detenu stayed and to follow his movements outside the house or houses during the period he remained on parole
No 6 2
SLP Civil No 28651976 3
8 4 1976 4
WP No 20121976 5
Karnataka 6
VS Acharya 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority either to arrange to have the detenu taken under police escort from Central Jail
Bangalore to Udupi starting from Bangalore on the morning of 13 4 1976 and to have him brought back under police escort from Udupi starting there from on the morning of 21 4 1976 or release the detenu at the gate of the Central Jail Bangalore on his execut ing a self bond lot Rs 5000 undertaking not to take part in any political activity or in any activity detrimental to the security of the State during the period he remained on parole as to surrender him self to the Jail authorities not later than 6 PM on 21 4 1976
The police however given the liberty to keep a watch over the detenu and to follow him movements during the period he remained on parole
No 7 2
SLP Civil No 30611976 3
8 4 1976 4
WP No 12951976 5Karnataka 6
CVShankar Rao Jadhav 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority either 1 to arrange to have the detenu taken too his home at Nandya under police escort starting from Bangalore on the evening of 10 4 1976 and to have him brought back under police escort to the Central Jail Bengal starting from Nandya on the morning 13 4 1977
729 or 2 to release him at the gate of the Central Jail Bangalore on the evening of 10 4 1976 on his executing a self bond for Rs 5000 undertaking to surrender himself to the Jail authorities not later than 4 PM on 12 4 1976 and not to take part in any political activity or other activity detrimental to the security of the State during the period of his release on parole
The police however given the liberty to keep a watch around the detenu s house and to follow his movements outside his house during the period of his release on parole
FIFTH BATCH OF APPEALS Sr
No 1 2
No 30021976 3
8 4 1976 4
WP No 23551976 5
Karnataka 6
DJ Shivaram 7
Prayer of the detenu allow him to be released on parole to enable him to take the final LLB examination rejected in view of the orders made by this Court ie the Su preme Court in High Court WP No 14541976 Sr No 2 2
No30031976 3
8 4 1976 4
WP No 19681976 5
Karnataka 6
Hanumant Gururao Inamdar 7
Prayer of the detenu to allow him to be released on parole to enable him to take the Second Year LLB examination rejected in view of the orders made by this Court on in High Court WP No 14541976
SIXTH BATCH OF APPEALS Sr
No1 2
CA No 3491976 3
18 7 1975 4
Application No7941975 5
Bombay 6
Ramlal Narang 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority not to remove the detenu till further order to another jail outside the State without giving at least 3 hours notice in writing excluding Sunday and holidays to the detenu attorneys
No 2 2
CA No 5731976 3 20 3 1976 4
Application No 311976 5
Bombay 6
Prabhudas Tribhovandas 7
Directions issued to the detaining authority to detain the detenu in such prison where the detenu would have the bene fit of the Company of other women detenus as also other facilities under the rules
Clauses 9iii 10 12ii  xi 19 20 21 23 24  31 of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 hereinafter referred to as the Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 which have been struck down by the High Court of Bombay read as under  9     730 iii Security prisoners shall not be allowed to supplement their diet even at their own expense
Any security prisoner who wishes to supplement his diet on medical grounds
may apply to the Commissioner or the Superintend ent as the case may be
The Commissioner or the Superintendent shah get him examined by a Medical Officer attached to the place of detention who may order such modification of or addition to his diet as he may consider necessary on medical grounds
Supply of funds  i A security prison er may with the previous sanction of the detaining authority receive from a specified relative or friend at intervals of not less than a month funds not exceeding Rs 30 per month and may spend these funds or a similar sum from his own private funds on such objects and in such manner as may be permissi ble under the rules in case in which for want of funds any security prisoners are compelled to do without small amenities which their fellow prisoners enjoy such amenities may if considered absolutely necessary by the Commis sioner or the Superintendent be supplied to them at Government costs
ii All funds so received shall be kept by the Commissioner or the Superintendent and spent by him on behalf of the security prison ers concerned
iii Amounts in excess of those pre scribed in subclause i may be received by the Commissioner or the Superintendent on behalf of security prisoners but they shall not be spent in any month beyond the limits laid down in the said sub clause
12   ii The number of interviews which a security prisoner may be permitted to have shall not ordinarily exceed one per month
xi In addition to the interviews permis sible under the preceding provisions of this clause a security prisoner may with the permission of the detaining authority be granted not more than two special interviews for the settlement of his business or profes sional affairs such interviews shall ordi narily take place within a period not exceed ing two months from the date of detention of the security prisoner
concerned and shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this clause as regards place duration and conditions of the interview and the proceed ings shall be strictly confined to the objects for which the interview is granted
Medical attendance  i The Superin tendent of the Hospital or the Civil Surgeon as the case may be shall depute a medical officer to visit each security prisoner de tained 731 in a police lock up and report of his physical condition
The said Medical Officer shall visit the prisoner at least once a week and more often if the Superintendent of the Hospi tal or the Civil Surgeon or the Commissioner as the ease may be thinks fit and submit the report on his condition to the Commissioner or the detaining authority after the first day of each month and at any other time he considers necessary
ii Security prisoner detained in a jail or sub jail shall in the event of illness be treated in the same way as convicted criminal prisoner or treated under the rules made under the  20
Toilet  i Every security prisoner shall be supplied with neam or babul stick at Government expense
ii Every security prisoner shall be supplied with one cake of jail made toilet soap per month for bathing at Government expense
The weight of such cake shall be 113 grams approximately and if jail made soap is not available in any medium quality toilet soap manufactured in India and available locally shall be supplied
Service of barbers etc
 i A securi ty prisoner shall not be permitted to have shaving equipment of his own
ii Every security prisoner shall be allowed to have the services of the jail barber once a week
Smoking and tobacco Except cigarettes or bidies and chewing tobacco which are available at the jail canteen no other facil ities to smoke or chew tobacco shall be per mitted
Games  Security prisoners shall not be pertained to play indoor games like cards or to play chess draughts and carrom
Power to withhold any concessions or facilities The State Government may by general or special order withhold any of the concessions or facilities provided by or under any of the provisions of this order in respect of any security prisoner or class of security prisoner and for such period or periods as the State Government may from time to time specify
Appearing on behalf of the Union of India and the States of Maharashtra and Karnataka the learned Additional Solicitor General has while very fairly stating that though the appropriate Government may have no objection to the issue of special orders permitting the detenus to receive or purchase toilet requisites toilet soap and to consult private doctors in case of genuine necessity if an applica tion is made to it in that behalf submitted that the right of any person to 732 move any court for the enforcement of the rights conferred by Article 21 which is the sole repository of the right to life and personal liberty and Articles 14 19 and 22 of the Constitution having been suspended by virtue of the Presidential Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 8
1976 issued under clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution which are absolute in terms for the period during which  the proclamation of emergency made on June 25 1975 under clause 1 of Article 352 of the Constitution is in force no person has a locus standi to move any application under Article 226 or Article 227 of the Constitution for issue of a writ order or direction to enforce any right to personal liberty
He has further urged that since it is for the appropriate Government to specify the place of a detenu s detention and to lay down by means of a general or special order the conditions as to his maintenance interviews or communications with others with a view to prevent his con tact with the outside world and sincewhat was sought to be enforced in the instant cases by means of the applications filed by or on behalf of the detenus under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution in the aforesaid High Courts was nothing but various facts of personal liberty under Articles 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution the applications were not maintainable and the High Courts were not competent to deal with them and to either strike down the aforesaid clauses of the Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 or to issue the aforesaid directions to the detain ing authorities
Mr Seervai Mr Ashok Sen Mr Desai and Mr Dattar learned counsel for the detenus have on the other hand emphasized 1 that preventive detention does not stand on the samefooting as punitive detention and while it cannot be gainsaid that persons who can be prosecuted and punished for offences against the law can also be preventively detained they cannot be punitively treated 2 that considerations relevant for applica tions seeking relief of release by habeas corpus are not relevant to cases in which conditions of detention fall for considera tion 3 that the principle of legality and the doctrine of ultra vires are not abrogated even during the times of emergency and the exercise of power under section 5 of the Act must have a reasonable nexus with the purpose for which the power is conferred 4 that if according to the majority judgment in Additional District Magistrate Jabalpur vs Shiva Kant Shukla1 even habeas corpus could issue in cases where the order is not duly authenticated then the conditions of detention can certainly be scrutinized and relief can be granted if those conditions are found to be illegal or ultra vires 1  AIR 1976 SC 12071976 Supp
SCR 172 733 5 that the aforesaid clauses of the Maha rashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 being ultra vires and violative of the princi ples of reasonableness and legality have rightly have been struck down by the High Court of Bombay 6 that a curtain cannot be drawn round the detenu red while he can be cut off from undesirable contacts he cannot be cut off from unobjectionable contacts 7 that if the place of detention mentioned in a detention order is a prison then the detenu would be governed by the but not if the detenu is lodged elsewhere 8 that the detenus  grievances are not echoes  of Article of the Constitution but are the echoes of the totality  law 9 that it is not right to say that what is not contained in Article 19 of the Constitu tion is contained in Article 21 of the Consti tution as this submission ignores Articles 15 25 and 26 of the Constitution which are ap plicable even to non citizens
The learned Additional Solicitor General has in his rejoinder contended that while total release is of course different from regulating conditions of detention the former not being available by virtue of the Presidential Orders dated 27th June 1975 and January 8 1976 issued under Article 359 1 of the Constitution which are uncondi tional even conditions of detention cannot be enforced by moving a court during the period of emergency and that the contention based upon the principles of legality and reason ables and doctrine of ultra vires is misconceived
The Additional Solicitor General has further submitted that legality has to be understood as meaning the authority of law and it so understood a person detained in accordance with the conditions framed under section 5 of the Act cannot complain that the conditions are illegal or ultra vires broader challenges based on fundamental rights not being available that the principle of reasonableness and the doctrine of ultra vires have no bearing on subordinate legislation framed under emergency laws that the court cannot grant relief on vague and indeterminate philosophical theories like the totality of law that as the line of demarcation between preventive and punitive detention which is easily perceivable at the stage of detention becomes progressively elusive and hazy when one comes to conditions of detention
there is little scope for generalisation that curtain has to be drawn round a detenu to ensure effective ness of detention which cannot be sacrificed in the interest of security of the State that the observations made by the majority in Shivakant Shukla s case supra regarding the area of judicial interference which are sought to be relied upon on behalf of the detenus relate to the obvious eases where the Executive itself could not and would not seek to defend a detention order and can be of no assistance in the present cases where the detenus seek to 734 enforce a right to do something or to get something which is not con terred on and given to them by law that any right to personal liberty or any facet or aspect thereof has to be found in some constitutional provision to be enforced in normal times and ex hypothesi to become unenforceable during an emergency and reference to Articles 15 25 and 26 of the Constitution completely ignores the fact that these rights postulate a free citizen and cannot be enforced independent ly of Article 21 or Article 19 of the Constitution and in any case the rights claimed in the present cases have no relation to those Articles
Without prejudice to the aforementioned contentions advanced by him the learned Additional Solicitor General has further submitted that it is only where there are specific provisions in the rules framed trader section 5 of the  Act that those provisions being conditions of detention can be enforced when still available to an individual detenu that the provisions of Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 have to be examined and scrutinized to see if the facilities claimed by the detenus are excluded by impli cation eg where a provision for a particular number of interviews is made it necessarily implies a prohibition against having more interviews that the question whether a particular act which is not specifically prohibited should be permitted or not has to be decided by keeping in view the effectiveness of detention that allowing a detenu to go and vote at a corporate election or to take part in legislative proceedings is destructive of the purpose of detention and in any event approach must be made to the Executive to exercise its rights of parole or relaxation which is implic it in sections 12 and 5 of the Act as for instance if the release is necessitated by exigencies like performance of obsequieal ceremonies or sharadh of a kith and kin but an order directing the detenu to be taken under police guard to the place where obsequies of a dead relation are to be performed cannot be made by a court as it tantamounts to onforcing his personal liberty that while Iramane consider ations are generally borne in mind by the authorities having the custody of the detenus and appropriate Government they cannot furnish reliable basis for judicial relief that the aforesaid directions of the Bombay High Court equating detenus with civil prisoners  amenable to the  does not only amount to a substitution or re enactment of section 5 of the Act ie of the but is also opposed to the definition of the prisoner  as contained in the Bombay Jail Manual which has not been amended so as to include persons directed to be detained under any Central or other Act providing for detention that the mere fact that a person is detained for purposes of administrative convenience in a jail does not mean that he is a civil prisoner or that the applies to him and that the necessity of having provisions in the condi tions of detention orders enabling a detenu to consult pri vate doctors in the presence of the official doctors in case of genuine necessity or to supplement his diet on medical grounds or to indulge in harmless pastimes like chess or carrom or to appear in examinations are matters for which the appropriate Government should be approached
735 We have given our anxious consideration to the submis sion made by counsel for the parties
In our judgment the vital question of fundamental importance that requires to be determined at the threshold in the instant cases is whether in view of the orders dated June 27 1975 and Janu ary 8 1976 issued by the President under clause 1 Article 359 of the Constitution the aforesaid petitions under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution were maintainable
For a proper determination of the question it is necessary to advert to the provisions of Articles 352 353 358 and 359 contained in Part XVIII of the Constitution called the Emergency Provisions as well as to the Presiden tial Orders dated November 3 1962 December 3 1971 Novem ber 16 1974 June 25 1975 June 27 1975 and January 8 1976
The aforesaid Articles of the Constitution are in these terms  Article 352
1 If the President is satisfied that a grave emergency exists where by the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened whether by war or external aggression or internal dis turbance he may by Proclamation make a declaration to that effect
2 A Proclamation issued under clause 1 a may be revoked by subsequent Proclamation b shall be laid before each House of Parlia ment c shall cease to operate at the expiration of two months unless before the expiration of that period it has been approved by resolu tions of both Houses of Parliament Provided that if any such Proclamation is issued at a time when the House of the People has been dissolved or the dissolution of the House of the People takes place during the period of two months referred to in sub clause c and if a resolution approving the Procla mation has been passed by the Council of States but no resolution with respect to such Proclamation has been passed by the House of the People before the expiration of that period the Proclamation shall cease to oper ate at the expiration of thirty days from the date on which the House of the People first sits after its reconstruction unless before the expiration of the said period of thirty days a resolution approving the Proclamation has been also passed by the House of People
3 A Proclamation of Emergency declaring that the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened by war or by external aggression or by internal disturb ance may be made before the actual occurrence of war or of any such aggression or disturb ance if the President is satisfied that there is imminent danger thereof
736  4 The power conferred on the President by this article shall include the power to issue different proclamations on different grounds being war or external aggression or internal disturbance or imminent danger of war or external aggression or internal disturbance whether or not there is a Proclamation already issued by the President under clause 1 and such Proclamation is in operation
5 Notwithstanding anything in this Constitu tion a the satisfaction of the President men tioned in clause 1 and clause 3 shall be final and conclusive and shall not be ques tioned in any court on any ground b subject to the provisions of clause 2 neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any question on any ground regarding the validi ty of i a declaration made by Proclamation by the President to the effect stated in clause 1 or ii the continued operation of such Proclama tion Article 353
While a Proclamation of Emer gency is in operation then a notwithstanding anything in this Con stitution the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of directions to any State as to the manner in which the executive power there of is to be exercised b the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to any matter shall include power to make laws conferring powers and imposing duties or authorising the Conferring of powers and the imposition of duties upon the Union or officers and authorities of the Union as respects that matter notwithstanding  that it is one which is not enumerated in the Union List Article 358
While a Proclamation of Emer gency is in operation nothing in Article 19 shall restrict the power of the State as defined in Part III to make any law or to take any executive action which the State would but for the provisions contained in that Part be competent to make or to take but any law so made shall to
the extent of the incompeten cy cease to have effect as soon as the Proc lamation ceases to operate except as respects things done or omitted to be done before the law so ceases to have effect  Inserted retrospectively by section 5 of the Constitution Thirty eighth Amendment Act 1975
737 Article 359
1 Where a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation the President may by order declare that the fight to move any court for the enforcement of such of the rights conferred by Part III as may be men tioned in the order and all proceedings pending in any court for the enforcement of the rights so mentioned shall remain suspended for the period during which the Proclamation is in force or for such shorter period as may be specified in the order
1A While an order made under clause 1 mentioning any of the rights conferred by Part III is in operation nothing in that Part conferring those rights shall restrict the power of the State us defined in the said Part to make any law or to take any execu tive action which the State would but for the provisions contained in that Part be competent to make or to take but any law so made shall to the extent of the incompetency cease to have effect as soon as the order aforesaid ceases to operate except as respects things done or omitted to be done before the law so ceases to have effect
2 An order made as aforesaid may extend to the whole or any part of the territory of India
3 Every order made under clause 1 shall as soon as may be after it is made be laid before each House of Parliament
 It is hardly necessary to emphasize that the provisions of the Articles reproduced above arc designed to arm the State with special powers to meet extraordinary situations created in times of grave national emergencies due to war external aggression and internal disturbance when the secu rity of the State nay the very existence of the nation is threatened necessitating the subordination of individual rights to the paramount consideration of the welfare of the State and to give effect to the well recognized principle to which particular attention was called by ECS Wade and Godfrey Phillips by inserting the following passage in their Constitutional Law 8th Edition Chapter 48 pp 717 718 It has always been recognized that times of grave national emergency demand the grant of special powers to the Executive
At such times arbitrary arrest and imprisonment may be legalised by Act of Parliament
 It is however necessary to state that there is an appreciable difference between Articles 358 and 3591 of the Constitution
Whereas simultaneously with the declara tion of emergency under Article 352 Article 358 by its own force removes the restrictions on the power of the Legislature to make laws inconsistent with Article 19 of the Constitution as also on the power of the Executive to take  Inserted retrospectively by section 7 of the Constitu tion Thirty eighth Amendment Act 1975
738 actions which may be repugnant to Article 19 of the Consti tution so long as the proclamation of emergency continues to operate but does not suspend any fundamental right which was available to a citizen under Article 19 of the Constitution prior to the promulgation of emergency Article 3591 empowers the President to suspend the right of an individual to move any court for enforcement of such of the rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution as may be speci fied by him the President in his order
In other words while Article 358 proporio vigore suspends the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution thus enabling the State during the period the proclamation of emergency is in operation to make laws in violation of Article 19 of the Constitution and to take Executive action under those laws despite the fact that those laws constitute an infringement of the rights conferred by Arti cle 19 Article 3591 of the Constitution does not sus pend any fundamental right of its own force but authorises the President to deprive an individual of his right to approach any Court for enforcement of any or all of the rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution
In Mohd Yaqub etc
vs The State of Jammu  Kashmir1 a Constitu tion Bench of this Court consisting of seven Judges inter alia pointed out that there is a distinction between Arti cles 358 and 3591 of the Constitution
Whereas Article 358 by its own force suspends the fundamental rights guaran teed by Article 19 Article 3591 of the Constitution has the effect of suspending the enforcement of specified funda mental rights so
that these concept cannot be used to test the legality of an Executive action
Reference in this connection may also usefully be made to a passage in Shivakant Shukla s case supra where my
Lord the Chief Justice who headed the majority opinion while pointing out the difference between Articles 358 and 359 of the Constitution observed  The vital distinction between Article 358 and Article 359 is that article 358 suspends the rights only under Article 19 to the extent that the legislature can make laws contraven ing Article 19 during the operation of a Proclamation of Emergency and the Executive can take action which the Executive is competent to take under such laws
Article 358 does not suspend any fundamental fight
While a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation the Presidential Order under Article 3591 can suspend the enforcement of any or all fundamental rights
Article 3591 also sus pends any pending proceedings for the enforce ment of such fundamental right or rights The purpose and object of Article 3591 is that the enforcement of any fundamental right mentioned in the Presidential Order is barred or it remains suspended during the emergency
Another important distinction between the two Articles is that Article 358 provides for indemnity whereas Article 3591 does not Article 3591A is on the same lines as Arti cle 358 but Article 3591A now includes all fundamental rights which may be mentioned in a Presidential Order and is therefore much wider than Article 358 which includes Article 19 only
1  739 A person can enforce a fundamental right both in the case of law being made in viola tion of that right and also if the Executive acts in non compliance with valid laws or acts without the authority of law
It cannot be said that the scope of Article 3591 is only to restrict the application of the Article to the Legislative field and not to the acts of the Executive
The reason is that any enforce ment of the fundamental rights mentioned in the Presidential Order is barred and any challenge either to law or to any act of the Executive on the ground that it is not in compliance with the valid law or without authority of law will amount to enforcement of fundamental rights and will therefore be within the mischief of the Presidential Order
The effect of the Presidential Order suspend ing the enforcement of fundamental right amounts to bar the locus standi of any person to move the court on the ground of violation of a fundamental right
 Thus the foregoing discussion makes two things perfectly clear1 that Article 3591 which makes no distinction between the threat to the security of India by war or external aggression or internal disturbance is wider in scope than Article 358 and 2 that it is not open to any one either to challenge the validity of any law or any Executive action on the ground of violation of a fundamen tal right specified in the Presidential Order promulgated under Article 3591
of the Constitution
It would be apposite at this stage to mention that in England in Liver sidge vs Anderson1 and Greene vs Secretary of State for Home Affairs2 and in India in Sree Mohan Chowdhury vs The Chief Commissioner Union Territory of Tripura3 and Makhan Singh vs State of Punjab4 the right of any person to challenge any executive action taken during emergency on the ground that it was arbitrary or unlawful has been negatived
In the Liversidge s case supra the following memorable observations made by the House of Lords in the King vs Halliday Ex parte zadig5 were referred to and relied upon  However precious the personal liberty of the subject may be there is something for which it may well be to some extent sacrificed by legal enactment namely national success in the war or escape from national plunder or enslavement
Liberty is itself the gift of the law and may by the law be forfeit ed or abridged Having noticed the amplitude of the provisions incorpo rated in our Constitution by its rounding fathers in rela tion to the threat posed by three types of grave emergencies on the basis of the experience gained 
in England and United States of America and their effect let us now turn to the various Presidential Orders and notice their effect
1  2 3    4 1964 4 SCR 797  AIR 1964 SC 381
5  13 112 SCI77
740 Presidential Order dated November 3 1962 issued under clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution after the proclamation of emergency made on October 26 1962 under clause 1 of Article 352 of the Constitution consequent on the invasion of India by China on September 8 1962 ran as follows  New Delhi the 3rd November 1962 GSR 1464 In exercise of the powers Con ferred by clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution the President hereby declares that the right of any person to move any court for the enforcement of the rights conferred by Article 21 and Article 22 of the Constitution shall remain suspended for the period during which the Proclamation of Emergency issued under clause 1 of Article 352 thereof on the 26th October 1962 is in force if such person has been deprived of any such rights under the Defence of India Ordinance 1962 4 of 1962 or any rule or order made thereunder
 Be it noted that addition of Article 14 was made in the above Presidential Order of November 3 1962 by the Presi dential Order dated November 11 1962 and the aforesaid emergency declared on October 26 1962 was revoked vide Presidential Order dated January 10 1968 issued under Article 3522a of the Constitution
Proclamation of emergency issued by the President of India under Article 3521 of the Constitution on December 3 1971 consequent upon the Pakistani aggression reads as under  In exercise of the powers conferred by clause 1 of Article 352 of the Constitution I VV Giri President of India by this
Proclamation declare that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India is threatened by external aggression
 Presidential Order dated November 16 1974 issued under clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution is in these terms  In exercise of the powers conferred by clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution the President hereby declares that  a the right to move any court with respect to orders of detention which have already been made or which may hereafter be made under section 3 1c of the as amended by Ordinance II of 1974 for the enforcement of the rights conferred by Article 14 Article 21 and clauses 4 5 6 and 7 of Article 22 of the Constitution and b all proceedings pending in any court for the enforcement of any of the aforesaid rights with respect to orders of detention made under the said section 31e shall remain suspended for a period of six months from the 741 date of issue of this order or the period during which the Proclamation of Emergency issued under clause 1 of Article 352 of the Constitution the 3rd December 1971 is in force whichever period expires earlier
2 This order shall extend to the whole of the territory of India
 On June 20 1975 the President of India amended the above order by substituting twelve months for six months in the order
Proclamation of Emergency issued by the President of India on June 25 1975 is to the following effect  PROCLAMATION OF EMERGENCY
In exercise of the powers conferred by clause 1  of Article 352 of the Constitution I Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed President of India by this Proclamation declare that a grave emer gency exists whereby the security of India is threatended by internal disturbances
New Delhi SdFA Ahmed the 25th June 1975 President
 Presidential Order dated June 27 1975 promulgated under clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution runs thus  In exercise of the power conferred by clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution the President hereby declares that the right of any person including a foreigner to move any court for the enforcement of the rights con ferred by Article 14 Article 21 and Article 22 of the Constitution and all proceedings pending in any court for the enforcement of the above mentioned rights shall remain sus pended for the period during which the Procla mations of Emergency made under clause 1 of Article 352 of the Constitution on the 3rd December 1971 and on the 25th June 1975 are both in force
This order shall extend to
the whole of the territory of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir
This order shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any order made before the date of this order under clause 1 of Article 359 of the Constitution On June 29 1975 another
order was issued by the President whereby the words except the State of Jammu and Kashmir in the order dated June 27 1975 were omitted
On September 25 1975 another Presidential Order was issued as a result of which the last paragraph in the Presidential Order dated June 27 1975 was omitted
On January 8 1976 the President issued yet another order under Article 3591 of the Constitution declaring that the right to move 742 any court for the enforcement of the rights conferred by Article 19 and the proceedings pending in any court for the enforcement of those rights shall remain suspended during the operation of the proclamations of emergency dated Decem ber 3 1971 and June 25 1975
The difference between the Presidential Order dated June 27 1975 which was supplemented by the Presidential Order dated January 8 1976 and the earlier Presidential Orders barring the right of a person to move any court for enforce ment of certain fundamental rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution may now be noticed
While the Presidential Order dated June 27 1975 which as already stated was supplemented by the Presidential Order dated January 8 1976 was absolute and unconditional in terms the earlier Presi dential Orders alluded to above were conditional and limited in scope
Apart from the fact that the Presidential Order dated November 3 1962 did not make any mention of the pending proceedings it was as pointed out by this Court in State of Maharashtra vs Prabhakar Pandurang Sanzgiri1 Dr Ram Manohar Lohia vs State of Bihar2 Makhan Singh vs State of Punjab supra and by the majority in ADM
Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla supra hedged by a condition inasmuch as it declared that the right of any person to move any court for the enforcement of rights conferred by Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution shall remain suspended for the period during which the proclamation of emergency issued under clause 1 of Article 352 thereof on October 26 1962 is in force if such a person has been deprived of any such rights under the Defence of India Ordinance 1962 4 of 1962 which was later on replaced by the Defence of India Act 1962 or any rule or order made thereunder
 Accordingly if a person was deprived of his personal liberty not under the Defence of India Act or any rule or order made there under but in contravention thereof his locus standi to move any court for the enforcement of his rights conferred by Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution was not barred
More or less similar was the pattern and effect of the Presidential Order dated November 16 1974
The position with respect to the Presidential Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 8 1976 is however quite different
These orders are not circumscribed by any limitation and their applicability is not made dependent upon the fulfilment of any condition precedent
They impose a total or blanket ban on the enforcement inter alia of the fundamental rights conferred by Articles 19 21 and 22 of the Constitu tion which comprise all varieties or aspects of freedom of person compendiously described as personal liberty
See1
K Gopalan vs The State of Madras1 Kharak Singh vs State of UP2 and ADM Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla supra
Thus there is no room for doubt that the Presidential Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 8 1976 unconditionally suspend the enforceability of the right conferred upon any person including a foreigner to move any court for the enforcement of the rights enshrined in Articles 14 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution
1   AIR 1966 SC 1924
2 19661 SCR 709  AIR 1966 SC 540
3    4 1964 1 SCR 332   743 The main contention advanced on behalf of the detenus that the Presidential Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 18 1976 do not bar the Court from examining the legality or vires or reasonableness of the Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 and that what is sought by means of the aforesaid petitions filed by or on their behalf is not the enforcement of the right to personal liberty conferred by Articles 14 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution but a redress of the complaint against illegality or ultra vires or unreasonableness of the Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 which imposes unwarranted constraints on them and does not provide them with facilities to which even the ordinary prisoners are entitled is totally mis conceived
It overlooks the well recognized canon of construction that the doctrines of legality and vires which are sacrosanct in times of peace have no relevance in regard to a legislative or an executive measure taken in times of emergency in the interest of the security of the State
It also ignores the well settled position that in times of emergency when the security of the State is of utmost importance the subordinate legislation has to be benevo lently construed and the strict yardstick of reasonableness cannot be appropriately applied
It also ignores the stark reality that the Presidential Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 8 1976 impose blanket bans on any and every judi cial enquiry or investigation into the validity of an order depriving a person of his personal liberty no matter whether it stems from the initial order directing his detention or from an order laying down the conditions of his detention
It has to be borne in mind that the rule of law during the emergency is no other than what is contained in Chapter XVIII of the Constitution which is the positive and tran scendental law
The following observations made by my Lord the Chief Justice in this connection in ADM Jabalpur V Shivakant Shukla s case supra are worth perusing  The Constitution is the mandate
The Constitution is the rule of law  
The rule of law is not a mere catchword or incan tation
The rule of law is not a law of nature consistent and invariable at all times and in all circumstances
The suspension of right to enforce fundamental right has the effect that the emergency provisions in Part XVIII are by themselves the rule of law during times of emergency
There cannot be any rule of law other than the constitu tional rule of law
There cannot be any pre Constitution or post Constitution Rule of Law which can run counter to the rule of law embodied in the Constitution nor can there be any invocation to any rule of law to nullify the constitutional provisions during the times of emergency
 Again as observed by my learned brother Beg J in AD M Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla s case supra the only Rule of Law which can be recognised by Courts of our country is what is deducible from our Constitution itself
The Constitution is for us the embodiment of the highest positive law as well as the reflection of all the rules of natural or ethical or common law lying behind it which can 744 be recognised by Courts
It seems to me to be legally quite impossible to successfully appeal to some spirit of the Constitution or to any law anterior to or supposed to lie behind the Constitution to frustrate the objects of the express provisions of the Constitution
I am not aware of any Rule of law or reason which could enable us to do that
What we are asked to do seems nothing short of building some imaginary parts of a Constitution supposed to lie behind our existing Constitution which could take the place of those parts of our Constitution whose enforcement is sus pended and then to enforce the substitutes
Even in emer gencies the power of the courts to test the legality of some executive act is not curtailed during the period the proclamation of emergency is in operation
Courts will apply the test of legality if the person aggrieved brings the action in the competent court 
But if the locus standi of the person to move the court is gone and the competence of the court to enquire into the grievance is also impaired by inability to peruse the grounds of execu tive action of their relationship with the power to act it is no use appealing to this Particular concept of the Rule of Law
It is just inapplicable to the situation which arises here
Such a situation is governed by the Emergency provisions of the Constitution
There provisions contain the Rule of Law for such situations in our country  
If the meaning of the emergency provisions in our Con stitution and the provisions of the Act is clearly that what lies in the executive fled as indicated above should not be subjected to judicial scrutiny or judged by judicial standards of correctness I am unable to see how the courts can arrogate unto themselves a power of judicial superintendence which they do not under the law during the emergency possess
 The observations made by my learned brother Chandrachud in ADM Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla s case supra are also apposite and may be conveniently referred to at this stage  The rule of law during an emergency is as one finds it in the provisions contained in Chapter XVIII of the Constitution
There cannot be a brooding and omnipotent rule of law drowning in its effervescence the emergen cy provisions of the Constitution
 The following observations made by my learned brother Bhagwati J in ADM Jabal pur vs Shivakant Shukla s case supra will also repay perusal  In the ultimate analysis the protection of personal liberty and the supremacy of law which sustains it must be governed by the Constitution itself
The Constitution is the paramount and supreme law of the land and if it says that even if a person is detained otherwise than in accordance with the law he shah not be entitled to enforce his right of personal liberty whilst a Presidential Order under Article 359 clause 1 specifying Article 21 is in force the Court has to give effect to it as the plain and emphatic command of the Constitution
 745 The observations made by this Court in Dhirubha Devisingh Gohil vs State of Bombay1 and reiterated in ADM Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla supra that if any pre Constitution right has been elevated as a fundamental right by its incorporation in Part III the pre existing right and the fundamental right are to be considered as having been grouped together as fundamental rights conferred by the Constitution cannot also be ignored
The conclusion therefore seems to us to be irresisti ble that as Articles 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution which according to the decisions of this Court in 4
K Gopalan vs State of Madras supra Kharak Singh vs State of UP supra and ADM Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla supra cover and form the source of all the varie ties or aspects of the rights that go to constitute what is compendiously described as personal liberty are suspended during the operation of the proclamation of emergency and the and the orders made or passed thereunder are not open to challenge on the ground of their being inconsistent with or repugnant to Articles 14 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution in view of the aforesaid Presi dential Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 8 1976 which totally take away the locus standi of the detenus to move any court for the enforcement of the aforesaid fundamental rights and the petitions out of which the present appeals have arisen did not seek to enforce the orders laying down the conditions of detention but on the contrary challenged them and covertly sought to enforce the very rights which are suspended they were clearly untenable and it was not open to the High Court of Bombay to strike down the afore said clauses of the Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 ignoring the weighty observations made by this Court in the State of Bombay vs Virkumar Gulabchand Shah2 to the effect that measures which often have to be enacted hastily to meet a grave pressing national emergency in which the very existence of the State is at stake should be con strued more liberally in favour of the State than peace time legislation
Now if no person has a locus standi to move any court to challenge the conditions of detention embodied in the Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 or other such orders or rules the position whereof is the same as that of the Punjab Communist Detenus Rules 1950 which as held by a Constitution Bench of this Court in Maqbool Hus sain vs The State of Bombay3 constitute a body of
self  contained rules prescribing the conditions of the detenus  maintenance discipline etc
 we cannot understand how the High Courts of BOmbay and Karnataka could issue the afore said directions disregarding the provisions of the Act particularly sections 5 and 126 thereof which are mandato ry in character and the aforesaid orders which in any case appear to have been issued in the interest of the effective detention of the detenus
1    2  at 884 3  746 The avowed object of the Act as manifest from its preamble being the conservation and augmentation of foreign exchange and the prevention of smuggling activities of considerable magnitude secretly organised and carried on which have a baneful effect on the national economy and gravely undermine the security of the State it is essential that the contact of the detenus with the outside world should be reduced to the minimum
It is therefore for the State Governments who are in full possession of all material facts including the peculiar problems posed by foreign exchange and smuggling and not for the Courts who have neither the necessary knowledge of the facts nor the legal competence to regulate conditions of detention of persons including their maintenance interviews or communi cations with others
The High Court also seem to have ignored the observa tions made by this Court in State of Maharashtra vs Prabha kar Pandurang Sanzgiri  Anr
supra and in ADM Jabalpur vs Shivakant shukla supra to the effect that when a person is detained he loses his freedom
He is no longer a free man and therefore he can exercise only such privi leges as are conferred on him by the order of detention or by the rules governing his detention
We would also like to reiterate here the observations made by a Constitution Bench of this Court in Maqbool Hussain vs The State Bombay Supra that the mere fact that a detenu is confined in a prison for the sake of administrative conven ience does not entitled him to be treated as a civil prison er or to be governed by the provisions of the 
The view of the High Court of Bombay to the contrary cannot therefore be sustained
It has also been contended by Mr Seervai that in asking for their temporary removal from their places of detention to their homes to perform funeral ceremonies or to appear at any examination or to be taken to a doctor of their choice for social medical attention the detenus are not enforcing their rights to freedom
The contention is not sound
Any relief that may be asked for through the aid of court for giving facilities to a detenu to be taken from his place of detention to his home or to an examination hall or for special medical treatment under a doctor of his choice or for any other facility would be enforcing fundamental rights through the aid of Court
The Presidential Proclamation is a complete answer against the enforcement of such reliefs through the aid of Court
The detenus may approach the competent administrative authorities for special medical attention or for facilities for performance of funeral ceremonies of their kith and kin or for facilities to appear at the examination or any other facility of similar nature
It is open to the administra tive authorities to take such action as they may be advised under the relevant provisions of the Act
But if the authorities do not give any relief it was said by counsel for the detenus then the detenus could come to the court
This contention is also unsound and unacceptable because that would also be enforcing fundamental rights through the aid and process of court which is not permissible so long as the aforesaid Proclamation is in force
747 We are therefore clearly of opinion that the aforesaid writ petitions were not maintainable and the High Court of Bombay and Karnataka were clearly in error in passing the impugned directions which are not warranted by any relevant law including the law relating to preventive detention of the kind with which we are concerned in the present cases
The detenus or their relations may if so advised approach the appropriate Governments
or other competent administrative authorities invoking their powers under section 5 read with section 12 of the Act or other relevant provisions thereof
In the result appeals diarised as Nos
3002 and 3003 of 1976 fail and are hereby dismissed while the rest of the appeals are allowed and the orders and directions forming the subject matter thereof are quashed
The special leave petitions are disposed of as infructuous as in view of our Judgment High Court Orders cannot stand
Since during the course of arguments it was pointed out to us that the conditions of detention laid down by some State Government differ in certain particulars we may in conclusion observe that the appropriate Governments would do well to take necessary steps to bring about uniformity therein
To eliminate the chances of hardship the appro priate Governments may as well issue standing orders to meet special contingencies which necessitate expert medical aid being provided to the detenus for the maintenance of their health or their being removed temporarily from their places of detention on humanitarian grounds to enable them to perform the obsequies of their kith and kin or for appearing in some examination without detriment to the security of the State
No order as to costs
BEG J
The circumstances in which the appeals now before us by special leave arose have been dealt with in extenso by my learned brother Jaswant Singh with whose judgment and proposed orders I entirely concur
I would however like to add some reasons of my own also to indicate why submissions made on behalf of the respondents on the strength of certain observations found in the judgments including mine in Additional District Magistrate Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla1 decided by a Constitution Bench of this Court cannot be accepted by us
I will also express my opinion very briefly and broadly on some other conten tions advanced by learned counsel for the respondents as issues relating to personal liberty which have been matters of very special and anxious concern to this Court arise here
I think this Court has made it amply clear in Shukla s case supra that the Constitution embodies for all Courts in this country the highest norms of law
It is the touch stone by which the validity of all action whether executive legislative or judicial is to be judged
That is why this Court has on several occasions spoken of the supremacy of the Constitution explained by me in Shukla s case supra also as follows 1   12831976 Supp
SCR 172 748 The position in this country is clearly one in which the fundamental law found in the Constitution is paramount
The Constitution provides the test for the validity of all other laws
It seeks to determine the spheres of executive and legislative and judicial powers with meticulous care and precision
The judicial function though wider in range when interpreting or applying other articles of the Constitution particularly Articles 14 and 19 the enforcement of which is also suspended during the current Emergency is especially constricted by the elaborate provi sions of Articles 21 and 22 which deal with personal liberty and preventive deten tion
The wider the sweep of the provisions of Articles 21 and 22 the more drastic must be the effect of suspending their enforcement
After all suspension does not and cannot mean retention under a disguise
It seems to me that the majority view in Shukla s Case supra was that there is no pre existing natural or funda mental or common law which in so far as the rights covered by Part III of our Constitution together with implications of such rights are involved is not embodied in the Consti tution itself
Furthermore this Court held there after considering all the relevant case law on the subject from the case of 4
K Gopalan vs State of Madras1 through Kharak Singh vs State of UP2 I C Golaknath vs State of Punjab3 His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagala varu vs State of Kerala4 to Haradhan Saha vs The State 0f West Bengal  Ors
5 that the sweep of Articles 19 and 21 is wide enough to include every aspect of personal free dom
This Court recalled that in Kharak Singh s case a Constitution Bench of this Court had held that the concept of personal liberty embodied in Article 21 is a compendi ous one and includes all varieties of rights tO exercise of personal freedom other than those dealt with separately by Article 19 which could fall under a broad concept of free dom of person
It was held to include freedom from surveillance from physical torture and from all kinds of harassment of the person which may interfere with his liberty
I summarised my conclusions on this sub ject in Shukla s case supra as follows For the reasons indicated above I hold as follows Firstly fundamental rights are basic aspects of rights selected from what may previously have been natural or common law rights
These basic aspects of rights are elevated to a new level of importance by the Constitution
Any 1  2 1964 1 SCR 332
3  4 1973 Supp
SCR I 5  1974 SC 2154
749 other co extensive rights outside the Con stitution are necessarily excluded by their recognition as or merger with fundamental rights
Secondly the object of making certain general aspects of rights fundamental is to guarantee them against illegal invasions of these rights by executive legislative or judicial organs of the State
This necessari ly means that these safeguards can also be legally removed under appropriate constitu tional or statutory provisions although their suspension does not by itself take away the illegalities or their legal consequences
Thirdly Article 21 of the Constitution has to be interpreted comprehensively enough to include together with Article 19 practi cally all aspects of personal freedom
It embraces both procedural and substantive rights
Article 22 merely makes it clear that deprivations of liberty by means of laws regulating preventive detention would be included in procedure established by law and indicates what that procedure should be
In that sense it could be viewed as substan tially an elaboration Of what is found in Article 21 although it also goes beyond it inasmuch as it imposes limits on ordinary legislative power
Fourthly taken by itself Article 21 of the Constitution is primarily a protection against illegal deprivations by the executive action of the State s agents or officials although read with other Articles it could operate also as a protection against unjusti fiable legislative action purporting to authorise deprivations of personal freedom
Fifthly the most important object of making certain basic rights fundamental by the Constitution is to make them enforceable against the State and its agencies through the Courts
Sixthly if the protection of enforceabil ity is validly suspended for the duration of an Emergency declared under Constitutional provisions the Courts will have nothing before them to enforce so as to be able to afford any relief to a person who comes with a grievance before them
I may mention at the risk of repetition that I had explained in Shukla s case supra that it is not the funda mental rights which are suspended by the Presidential Order under Article 359 of the Constitution but the right to move any Court for the enforcement of such right by Part III as may be mentioned in the order which is suspended for the duration of the Emergency
Speaking for myself I was of opinion that what is very obviously and clearly affected is the enforceability of fundamental rights during such an Emergency
This means that it is really the jurisdiction of Courts to the extent to which a petitioner seeks to enforce a fundamental right mentioned 750 in the Presidential Order which is suspended or is in abeyance
I said there at p 1302 paragraph 346 The result is that I think that there can be no doubt whatsoever that the Presidential Order of 27th June 1975 was a part of an unmistakably expressed intention to suspend the ordinary processes of law in those cases where persons complain of infringement of their fundamental  rights by the executive authorities of the State
It is these processes of law whether statutory or outside
any statute even assuming for the sake of argument that there could be any such non statutory rights which Arti cle 21 expressly protects
Therefore I am totally unable to understand how without ignoring what our Constitution enjoins a Court could do what is Constitutionally prohib ited ie to enforce a statutory or non statutory supposed protection
Shukla s case supra and other connected cases related to the enforcement of the right to personal liberty by obtaining an order of release of detenus after issuing writs of Habeas Corpus
Article 223 of the Constitution no doubt gives power not only to issue specified writs but enables High Courts to issue orders and directions for any other purpose
It seems to me that this other purpose has to be similar to those for which one of the specified writs could issue except to the extent that each specified writ may have special features or incidents attached to it
Now the writ of Habeas Corpus as is well known is wider in scope than enforcement of fundamental rights which are available against the State only and its officers and agents
Therefore I had said in Shukla s case p 1300 The remedy by way of a writ habeas corpus is more general
It lies even against illegal detentions by private persons although not under Article 32 which is confined to en forcement of fundamental rights vide Smt
Viday Verma vs Dr Shiv Narain Verma 1955C2 SCR 983AIR The Attorney General also concedes that judicial proceedings for trial of accused persons would fail outside the interdict of the Presidential Order under Article 3591
Therefore it is unnecessary to consider hypothetical cases of illegal convictions where remedies under the ordinary law are not suspended
As already indicated above fundamental rights are conferred and guaranteed by the Constitution so that citi zens and in the cases of Articles 14 and 21 even non citizens may get relief against the State and its agencies
The suspension of enforcement of fundamental rights which are rights enforceable against the State only does not as I pointed out in Shukla s case debar enforcement of some right to personal freedom against a private individual by means of a writ of habeas corpus directed to him to produce a person illegally detained
But so far as mere direc tions or orders for any other purpose are concerned the jurisdiction of High Courts does not 751 extend to making orders against private individuals
There fore the distinction which 1 drew in Shukla s case supra between a detention by an officer of the State vasted with the power to detain and purporting to act under some law which authorises him to pass a detention order and a detention by a private individual has no real bearing on the cases now before us
I had certainly expressed the view in Shukla s case that if a detention by a person or authority is not in exercise or purported exercise of a power to detain which is not vested in all officers of State under statutes providing for it the action of an officer of the State on the facts of a particular case may be prima facie
indistinguisha ble from a detention by a private person and may not be protected at all by the Presidential Order which only covers purported actions of the State and its Officers empowered to detain
That was as I pointed out there was a purely hypothetical situation not presented in any of the cases before us on that occasion
If the officer concerned is duly empowered and has passed a detention order that order is certainly not capable of being questioned under Article 226 either on the ground of alleged ultra vires or mala fides
All inquiry into the conditions of exercise of such power is barred under Constitutional provisions during the emergency
That was the very clearly expressed majori ty view in Shukla s case supra
In all the cases now before us the application consid ered by the High Court was for grant of a direction or order against the State or its Officers acting in the performance of their purported duties
The remedy sought against them was clearly covered by the Presidential inhibition which operates under the Constitution which is supreme against the High Courts
Hence whatever may be the grievances of the detenus with regard to the place of their confinement the supply of information to them their desire to get treatment by their own private doctors or to obtain some special or additional food required by them from their own homes or to leave the place of their confinement temporari ly to go to some other place to perform some religious ceremony or other obligation for which they had erroneous ly sought permission and directions of the Court subject to any conditions such as that the detenus could be accompa nied by the police or remain in the custody of the police during the period are not matter which the High Court had any jurisdiction to consider at all
It was therefore quite futile to invite our attention to the allegations of petitioners about supposed conditions of their detention
Indeed on the face of it the nature of the claims made was such that they are essentially matters fit to be left to the discretion and good sense of the State authorities and officers
It is not possible to believe on bare allega tions of the kind we have before us that the State authori ties or officers will be vindictive or malicious or unrea sonable in attending to the essential needs of detenus  These are not matters which the High Court could consider in petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution whatever be the allegations made on behalf of detenus so as to induce the High Court to interfere
The High Courts can only do so under Article 226 of the 752 Constitution if they have authority or power to do it under the Constitution
Devoid of that power the directions which may be given by a High Court after such enquiries as it makes would be useless as they will not be capable of enforcement at all during the Emergency under the law as we find it in our Constitution
It will be noticed that in most of the cases before us the demands made by the detenus have become infructous either because they have been promptly met by the State concerned under orders of a High Court without any attempt by the State to do anything more than to question the juris diction quite properly of the High Court to give such directions or because the time to which it related has expired so that there has remained nothing more than a question of law or principle for us to be called upon to determine
I cannot help observing having regard to some of the allegations made that they could not be at all easily accepted by any reasonable person and may have been proved to be totally unfounded if they had been actually investi gated and tried
If the State Governments promptly met as they seem to have done all reasonable requests either before or after the orders of the High Court without questioning anything other than the power of the High Court to give the directions given it could not be readily in ferred that all the allegations are either correct or that the Governments concerned are taking any unreasonable stands
Indeed we have been requested by the Solicitor General to indicate the lines on which requests by detenus of the kind we now find in the cases before us should be dealt with
These are matters entirely outside the scope of our judicial functions
We cannot suggest what a comprehen sive set of rules on such subjects should be
All that we need say on such a subject is that the attitude on behalf of the State has been very reasonable and proper in this Court
And we have no doubt that any attempt to formulate uniform rules on such matters by authorities concerned and empow ered to do so will also disclose the same reasonableness
Speaking for myself I am inclined to suspect that a number of allegations made on behalf of the detenus have the oblique motive of partisan villification or political propa ganda for which Courts are not proper places
I would not like to make any further comments on this aspect
I would next like to make a few observations about the contention most vehemently pressed for acceptance by us by Mr Seervai appearing on behalf of the respondents
It was that we should adjudicate upon the validity of the rules regulating conditions of detention which are being applied to the detenus
The rules and the enactments under which they have been made have been considered in the judgment of my learned brother Jaswant Singh
I do not propose to
cover the same ground afresh
I am in complete agreement with all that my learned brother has said
I would howev er like to add some observations on the main ground upon which the validity of the rules is assailed
It was urged before us that rules regulating conditions of their deten tion cannot be either so made or 753 administered as to amount to punitive detention of the detenus
Reliance was placed on Haradhan Saha s case supra where a Constitution Bench of this Court said at p 2100 The power of preventive detention is qualitatively different from punitive deten tion
The power of preventive detention is a precautionary power exercised in reasonable anticipation
It may or may not relate to an offence
It is not a parallel proceeding
It does not overlap with prosecution even if it relies on certain facts for which prosecution may be launched or may have been launched
An order of preventive detention may be made with or without prosecution and in anticipation or after discharge or even acquittal
The pendency of prosecution is no bar to an order of preventive detention
An order of preven tive detention is also not a bar to prosecution
In Haradhan Saha s case this Court was concerned with indicating how preventive detention and punitive detention belong to two very different and distinct categories or could be separately classified from the point of view of article 14 of the Constitution
Their objects and social purposes may be very different in hue and quality
The procedures applicable in cases of the two types are certain ly radically different
The authorities entrusted with the power of ordering punitive and preventive detentions also act on very different principles and for very different reasons
The Constitutional justification for preventive detention was considered by this Court at some length in Shukla s case supra
Although preventive detention which is constitutionally sanctioned in this country and punitive detention may be qualitatively different and be regulated by entirely different procedures and may have very different immediate objectives yet if we closely examine the total effects and ultimate social purposes of detention whether preventive or punitive it seems to me speaking entirely for myself that the theoretical distinctions become less obvious
It seems to me that the broad purpose of all action which results in the detention of a person by the State or its officers must necessarily be a deprivation which could if their effects on the detenu alone were to be considered be not incorrectly described as punitive
Again preventive detention like punitive detention may have some therapeutic or reformative purposes behind them for the detaining authorities viewing the matters from administrative or psychological points of view necessitating some action in national interest
Some jurist who under takes a study of the subject may discover certain broad similarities of social purposes side by side with the distinctions already pointed out by this Court
In Shukla s case I indicated that the exercise of power of preventive detention during an Emergency may be viewed as a purely administrative
to use the term employed by Sir William Hordsworth
even political action lying in an area which is completely protected from judicial scrutiny
As we indicated in Shukla s case high 754 authority can be cited for such a proposition see Liver sidge s1 case and Rex vs zadiq2
The result seems to me to be that the principle that the doctrine of State necessity is not available to a State against its own citizens becomes inapplicable during an Emergency at least as a result of the suspension of enforceability of the rights of citizens under Articles 19 and 21 of the Consti tution
This seems to me to flow directly from the implica tions of the maxim Salus Populi Est Supreme Lax regard for public welfare is
the highest law applied by us in Shukla s case supra and by English Courts in Liver sidge s case supra and Zadig s case supra
This however does not mean that the persons detained are with out any remedy as was pointed out in Shukla s case
The result only  is that the remedy for all their grievances lies in times of Emergency with the executive and adminis trative authorities of the State where they can take all their complaints
Here we have to be content with de claring the legal position that the High Courts acting under article 226 have not been given the power to interfere in any matter involving the assertion or enforcement of a right to personal freedom by the detenus during an Emergen cy when exercise of such power of High Courts is suspend ed
We are not concerned in these cases with other kinds of claims which may arise before the ordinary criminal or civil courts for wrongs done by officers acting maliciously in purported exercise of their powers
We are only concerned here with the powers of High Courts under article 226 of the Constitution
I have no doubt whatsoever that if the object of a proceeding is to enforce the fundamental right to personal freedom a High Court s jurisdiction under article 226 is barred during an Emergency even if it involves adjudication on the question of vires of a rule made under enactments authorising preventive detention
I find it impossible to invalidate a rule either intended for or used for regulating the conditions of detention of a person detained under one of the Acts authorising preventive detention on the ground that the rule could only be used for persons in punitive detention
The attack on the validity of such a rule cannot succeed on the ground that the object of the rule should be shown to be preventive and not punitive
I fail to find a reasonably practical method of distinguishing a rule which could be used for those in preventive detention under an Act authorising it from another rule which could only apply to persons in punitive detention undergoing sentences of imprisonment
These are really administrative matters with which High Courts can have no concern for the reasons given above and also in Shukla s case supra
Learned counsel for the detenus appear to me to be resurrecting the ghost of a Natural law which we thought we had laid to rest in Shukla s case supra
As certain arguments based on what looks like National Law have been advanced again before us I may cite an instructive passage from Judge Cordozo s Nature Of the Judicial Process
He said 1  2  755 The law of nature is no longer conceived of as some thing static and eternal
It does not override human or positive law
It is the stuff out of which human or posi tive law is to be woven when other sources fail
The modern philosophy of law comes in contact with the natural law philosophy in that the one as well as the other seeks to be the science of the just
But the modern philosophy of law departs essentially from the natural law philosophy in that the latter seeks a just natural law outside of posi tive law while the new philosophy of law desires to deduce and fix the element of the just in and out of the positive law out of what it is and of what it is becoming the natural law school seeks an absolute ideal law natural law 
  by the side of which positive law has only secondary importance
The modern philosophy of law recog nizes that there is only one law the positive law but it seeks its ideal side and its enduring idea
 I respectfully agree with this statement of the rela tionship between natural law and positive law today in the application of law by courts governed by and subject to the limitations of a written Constitution such as ours
Let us however assume in order to test the correctness of the proposition that a rule of natural law having as much force and validity as a rule of positive law embodied in a statute has been infringed
Let us go a little further and even assume that a rule embodied in a statute has been violated by an authority functioning under the Constitu tion in either framing or administering a rule
Can Courts exercising powers under Article 226 declare that rule or purported action of an executive authority dealing with a detenu under the rule or in exercise of its discre tion to be ultra vires  We are all aware of the dictum of Justice Holmes that law is not logic
Nevertheless I do not think that the Courts have the power to persue a logic of their own to overcome what the letter of the Constitution clearly prohibits
The precedents we have discussed at length in Shukla s case indicate the declarations of law that Articles 19 and 21 embrace every aspect of an alleged infringement of the right to personal freedom by a State authority or officer purporting to act under a law by which we are bound Even if the action violates a protection conferred by Article 21 upon citizens as well as non citi zens in ordinary times yet the result of the suspension of the protection given by Article 21 must necessarily be that the protection cannot be enforced during an Emergency
If that be the effect of the Presidential declaration under Article 359 as we declared it to be after a very anxious consideration in Shukla s case we cannot go behind this declaration of law and the express letter of the law as embodied in our Constitution and enforce what may be cov ered by the right to personal freedom in ordinary times whether it parades under the guise of natural law or statu tory law or Constitutional law
This consequence seems to me to flow logically and naturally and necessarily from the whole trend of reasoning and in any ease from the actual declaration of law and the conclusion recorded by us in Shukla s ease
I would therefore consider any 14 112SCI77
756 stray sentences or expressions of opinion in our judg ments in Shukla s case which may torn out of their con text give a contrary impression to be mere obiter dicta
For the reasons given above as well as those given by my learned brother Jaswant Singh I concur with the orders proposed by my learned brother


Summary:
The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974 provides that security prisoners shall not be allowed to supplement their diet even at their own expense restricts the security prisoner from receiving funds from relatives and friends restricts the number of meetings with relatives and friends and medical attention is allowed only through the Medical Officer of the prison in the same way as a convicted criminal and so on
Writ Petitions field by the detenus under articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution two High Courts have struck down the Order as ultra vires
On appeal it was contended by the State that the right of a person to move
any Court for the enforcement of the rights conferred by articles 14 19 21 and 22 of the Constitu tion having been suspended by the Presidential Orders of June 27 1975 and January 8 1976 issued under article 3591 for the period during which the Proclamation of Emergency was inforce no person had locus Mandi to move an appli cation under article 226 for the issue of a writ to enforce any right to personal liberty
Allowing the appeals per Ray CJ and Jaswant Singh J HELD The Writ Petitions were not maintainable and the High Courts were clearly in error in passing the impugned directions which were not warranted by any relevant law including the law relating to preventive detention
732 D 1
It is well settled by the decisions of this Court that if a person was deprived of his personal liberty not under the Defence of India Act 1962 or any rule or order made thereunder but in contravention thereof his locus standi to move any court for the enforcement of the rights conferred by articles 21 and 22 was not barred
On the other hand since the Presidential Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 8 1976 were not circumscribed by any limitation their applicability was not made dependent upon the fulfil ment of any conditions precedent
They imposed a total or blanket ban on the enforcement of the fundamental rights conferred by articles 19 21 and 22
There istherefore no room for doubt that these Presidential Orders unconditional ly suspended the enforceability of the right conferred upon any person including a foreigner to move any Court for the enforcement of the rights conferred by articles 14 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution
742 E G H Additional District Magistrate Jabalpur vs Shiva Kant Shukla  Makhan Singh vs State of Punjab  State of Maharashtra vs Prabhakar Pandurang Sanz giri 1966 1 SCR 702 AIR 1966 SC 424 Dr Ram Manohar Lohia vs State of Bihar 1966 SC 740 AK Gopalan vs The State of Madras and Kharak Singh vs State of UP 1964 1 SCR 332 AIR 1963 SC 1295 followed 720 2
When a person has no locus standi to move any Court to challenge his order of detention the High Court could not issue directions disregarding the provisions of the Act which is a self contained code and particularly sections 5 and 126 which are mandatory
745 F H Maqbool Hussain vs The State of Bombay   followed
As Articles 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution have been suspended during the operation of the Proclamation of Emergency the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Preven tion of Smuggling Activities Act and the orders made or passed thereunder were not open to challenge on the ground of their being inconsistent with or repugnant to articles 14 19 21 and 22 of the Constitution in view of the Presiden tial Orders dated June 27 1975 and January 8 1976
742 G H In the instant case the detenus covertly sought to enforce the vary rights which were suspended
It was not open to the High Courts to strike down the impugned clauses of the Maharashtra Conditions of Detention Order 1974
The avowed object of the Act as mainrest from its preamble being the conservation and augmentation of foreign exchange and the prevention of smuggling activities secretly organised and carried on it is essential that contact 0f the detenus with the outside world should be reduced to the minimum
It is for the State Governments who are in full possession of all material facts and not for the Courts who have neither the necessary knowledge of the facts nor the
legal competence to regulate conditions of detention Of persons including their maintenance interviews or communi cations with others
746 A C 5
When a person is detailed he can exercise only such privileges as are conferred on him by the order of detention or by the rules governing his detention
State of Maharashtra vs Prabhakar Pandurang Sanzgiri 1966 I SCR 702AIR 1966 SC 424 referred to
The mere fact that a detenu is confined in a prison for the sake of administrative convenience does not entitle him to be treated as a civil prisoner or to be governed by the provisions of the Prisons Act
The view of the High Courts to the contrary cannot be sustained
746 D E Maqbool Hussatn vs The State of Bombay   followed
The contention that the Presidential Orders did not bar the Court from examining the vires of the detention orders because what was sought to be enforced was not a right of personal liberty but a redress against unreasona bleness of the order was misconceived
The Presidential Orders imposed a blanket ban on every judicial enquiry into the validity of an order depriving a person of his personal liberty irrespective of whether it stems from the initial order directing his detention or from an order laying down the conditions in his detention
743 A E Additional District Magistrate Jabalpur vs Shiva Kant Shukla followed
Per Beg
J Concurring
721 The High Courts acting under article 226 have not been given the power to interfere in any matter involving the assertion or enforcement of a right to personal freedom by the detenus during an Emergency when exercise of such power by the High Courts is suspended
In times of Emergency the remedy for all the grievances of the detenus lies with the executive and administrative authorities of the State
754 B C 1
Shukla s case held that it was not the fundamental rights which were suspended by the Presidential Order under article 359 but the right to move any Court for the enforcement of such right conferred by Part III as may be mentioned in the Order which is suspended for the duration of_the Emer gency
This mean that it is the jurisdiction of Courts to the extent to which a petitioner seeks to enforce the funda mental rights mentioned in the Presidential Order which is suspended
749 G H Additional District Magistrate Jabalpur vs Shivakant Shukla AIR 1976 SC 1283 applied
AK Gopalan vs State of Madras   Kharak Singh vs State of UP 1964 1 SCR 332 1
C Golakanath vs State of Punjab  His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalavaru vs State of Kerala 1973 Supp
SCR 1 and Haradhan Saha vs The State of West Bengal  Ors 1975 1 SCR 778 AIR 1974 SCR 154 referred to
The term any other purpose in article 226 means pur poses similar to those for which one of the specified writs would issue subject to certain exceptions The writ of habeas corpus is wider in scope than the enfrocement of fundamen tal rights which are available against the State only and its officers and agents
But so far as mere directions or orders for any other purpose are concerned the jurisdiction of High Courts does not extend to making orders against private individuals
On the other hand if an officer is duly empowered and has passed a detention order that order is not capable of being questioned under article 226
All enquiry into the conditions of exercise of such
power is barred under the constitutional provisions during the emer gency
750 D E H 751 A C D 3
In the instant case the remedy sought was clearly covered by the Presidential inhibition which operates against the High Courts
The claims made by the detenus were not matters which the High Court could consider in petition under article 226 of the Constitution
751 E F 4
If the object of a proceeding is to enforce the fundamental right to personal freedom a High Court s jurisdiction under article 226 is barred during an Emergency even if it involved adjudication on the question of vires of a rule made under enactments authorising preventive deten tion
It is impossible to invalidate a rule either intended for or used for regulating the conditions of detention of a person detained under one of the Acts authorising preven tive detention on the ground that the rule could only be used for persons in punitive detention
The attack on the validity of such a rule cannot succeed on the ground that the object of the rule should be shown to be preventive and not punitive
754 E F 5
Shukla s case indicates that articles 19 and 21 embrace every aspect of an alleged infringement of the right of personal freedom by a State authority or officer purporting to act under a law
Even if the action violates a protec tion conferred by article 21 upon citizens as well as non citizens in ordinary times the result of the suspension of the protection given by article 21 must necessarily be that the protection cannot be enforced during an Emergency
If that be the effect of the Presidential declaration under article 359 the Court cannot go behind this declaration of law and the express letter of the law as embodied in the Constitu tion and enforce what may be covered by the right to person al freedom in ordinary times whether it parades under the guise of natural law or statutory law or constitutional law
755 F H 722