( 1 ) MISCELLANEOUS Case No. 325 of 1951 concerns an application for a writ of habeas corpus made by one Ansumali Majumdar on behalf of Dr. Ranen Sen, who has been elected a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, and Sri Bhupesh Chandra Gupta who has been elected a member of the Council of States. Both these persons are detained under orders made under the Preventive Detention Act.

( 2 ) MISCELLANEOUS Case No. 52 of 1952 concerns an application by Benoy Krishna Chowdhury, Ganesh Ghosh and Dr. Ranen Sen for a writ of habeas corpus. As I have stated earlier, Dr. Ranen Sen is a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly under detention and so also are Benoy Krishna, Chowdhury and Ganesh Ghosh members of that assembly.

( 3 ) THE common point in both these cases is whether persons returned as members of a State Legislative Assembly or the Council of States can be detained under the provisions of the Preventive Detention Act whilst their membership of the Assembly or the Council of States continues.

( 4 ) I wish to make it quite clear at the outset that no point was taken on behalf of anyone of these four detenus that the orders detaining them were in any