G.S. SISTANI, J.

1. Pleadings in this matter are complete.

2. Rule D.B. With the consent of counsel for the parties, the present petition is set down for final hearing and disposal.

3. Petitioner has filed the present petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 Cr. P.C. for issuance of a writ in the nature of Habeas Corpus in the matter of detention of the petitioner, who is detained under Order FN.673/17/2014-CUS VIII dated 26.9.2014, passed by the Joint Secretary, Government of India (COFEPOSA), New Delhi.

4. The necessary facts to be noticed for disposal of the writ petition and as detailed in the petition are that the petitioner is stated to be residing at a village which is situated in the interiors of the State of West Bengal. As per the petition, the native language of the petitioner is Bengali. He is educated upto Madhyamik (equivalent to class 10th) in the vernacular Bengali language. He understands and is conversant with Bengali language alone. According to the petition, this fact is known and accepted by the detaining authority; and also the fact that the knowledge of the petitioner of English language is limited to the extent of signing his name in English, and with difficulty and effort to copy a few lines if given to him in English.

5. The petitioner was lifted on 30.10.2014 from his house and brought to the Presidency Correctional Home, Alipore (Presidency Jail, Alipore), Calcutta. In jail he was served with the detention order dated 26.09.2014 along with the grounds of detention and copies of the documents relied upon; ninety six (96) pages in English were received by him; no translation in Bengali of the aforesaid documents was provided; and even the documents which were originally in Bengali were translated into English. It is also the case of the petitioner that under instructions of the Customs Officers, he read out a letter in English and the petitioner was directed to copy it, which the petitioner did.

6. The first ground urged by counsel for the petitioner being ground A, as set out in the writ petition is that the documents relied upon by the detaining authority were handed over to the petitioner in English, which is a language which he cannot read and understand and the alleged explaining of the documents in Bengali without providing a translation of the said papers is not sufficient compliance of the law and the mandate of Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India. In support of his submission, counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is not fluent in English and has studied upto Madhyamik (equivalent to class 10th) in vernacular Bengali language, and merely because he has appended his signatures or made an endorsement in English would not mean that he was in a position to read and understand 96 pages provided to him in a language which he could not understand.

7. Counsel next submits that a representation was made by the wife of the petitioner on 1.12.2014 to the Central Government and similarly a representation of the same date was made by the petitioner to the Advisory Board. The representations could not be made expeditiously, as the petitioner and his wife were handicapped since no translations were provided to them. Additionally, it is contended that the statement of the petitioner was also recorded in Bengali, which would show that he was not conversant with the English language. The petitioner being a resident of a village in interior of the West Bengal, having been educated upto Madhyamik in vernacular Bengali medium school, and merely because he had taken English as one of the subjects, it cannot be said that it satisfies the legal requirement of communicating the grounds of detention in a language known to the detenu. In support of his submission, counsel has placed reliance on Hadibandhu Das vs. District Magistrate, Cuttack and Another, A