B. Sudershan Reddy, C.J.

If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other, it is the principle of free thought - not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate. - Justice Oliver Wendell Homes in his Immortal Dissent in U.S. v. Schwimmer 279 U.S. 664 .

Prologue

1. When the Supreme Court revisited the question whether an officer especially empowered to pass order for preventive detention is required to consider the representation submitted by the detenue in Kamlesh Kumar Ishwardas Patel v. Union of India and Ors. which is considered to be a comprehensive work of learning, it was perceived to have provided final solution to the problem arising in that regard. The significant progress has been made on both constitutional and philosophical fronts, as various issues have been significantly clarified and diverse position given to cogent articulation, yet the debate over interpretation of Article 22(5) has recently been intensified, with advocates and foes bitterly divided as ever,

2. The debate on protection of life and liberty a4nd protection against arrest and detention involves complex an