Judgement

S. R. DAS, CJI. - This is a petition under Art .32 of the Constitution of India praying for an order that the petitioner s detention be declared illegal and that he be set at liberty. The facts are shortly as follows:

2. On 30-6-1954 the petitioner was arrested in pursuance of an order of detention made on the same day under the Jammu and Kashmir Preventive Detention Act No.4 of Sambat 2011. On 1-7-1954 the grounds on which the order had been made were communicated to the petitioner. On 12-7-1954 the petitioner submitted his representation to the Government. Not having heard anything further in the matter, the petitioner made an application to the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir under S.491 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It appears that the Government had reviewed the case of the petitioner under sub.s.(2) of S.14 in consultation with a person nominated for the purpose, on 23-8- 1954 and was satisfied that he should continue to be detained. Accordingly during the pendency of the habeas corpus petition before the High Court the Government on 23-12-1954 made an order under S.14 continuing the detention of the petitioner. Thereafter the petitioner moved the Vacation Judge of this Court under Art.32. The learned Vacation Judge was not satisfied that there was any prima facie ground for interference on the assumption that the Jammu and Kashmir Preventive Detention Act was valid. As, however, the constitutionality of the Act was challenged the learned Judge directed a rule to issue. On 9-9-1955, however, the petitioner, alleging that a certain decision had been made by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court which covered his case, asked for permission to withdraw the petition, which was accordingly dismissed as withdrawn. In the meantime and thereafter the petitioner s case was reviewed by the Government and orders extending his detention were made from time to time, the last of such orders having been made on 8-6-1956. On 25-5- 1956 he made a second petition before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. That petition was dismissed on 21-6-1956 by the High Court. Thereafter the present petition under Art.32 was presented before this Court on 26-9- 1956.

3. The learned Attorney-General has taken a preliminary objection that in view of the observations of the Vacation Judge as to the merits of the case referred to above the present petition in so far it raises any question other than the constitutional point was not maintainable. Shri T.R.Bhasin, who has assisted us in this matter as amicus curiae, draws our attention to a fresh petition filed by the petitioner and assures us that he does not desire to raise any of the questions of fact raised in the first petition, which had been withdrawn, but will confine his arguments to the new points of law raised in the supplementary petition. In view of the fact that this petition is concerned with the liberty of a subject, we have considered it right to hear Shri T.R. Bhasin on the new points sought to be raised by him.

4. Shri T.R. Bbasin raises two points, namely:-

(1) that the detention has become wrongful and illegal in as much as the order under S.14 was not made before the expiration of a period of three months after the order of detention; and

(2) that the second ground of detention is wrong in as much as the Chief Secretary has admitted that there is no such hotel as Guest House hotel at Amira Kadal, where the detenu is alleged to have attended a meeting therein referred to. (5) The second point was raised on account of the typographical error in the copy of the Chief Secretary s affidavit, which was available to the learned counsel. In point of fact the Chief Secretary has maintained that there is a Guest House hotel at Amira Kadal. The original affidavit having been shown to the learned counsel, he has abandoned the second point. He however, presses the first point.

6. Learned counsel draws our attention to Art. 22 (4) of the Constitution. That clause lays down that no law providing fo