Geetha vs The Principal Secretary to Government & Ors

The petitioner is the detenu viz. Geetha, daughter of Velappan, aged about 56 years. The detenu has been detained, as per the order of the

second respondent, dated 11.10.2017, under Section 2(g) of the Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982, branding him as ""Immoral Traffic Offender"".

Challenging the same, the petitioner has come up with this Habeas Corpus Petition.

We have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondents. We have also

perused the records carefully.

The main submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the detenu has sent a representation to the District Collector on 16.10.2017

and within a period of 12 days, the same has to be considered by the District Collector and accordingly, the District Collector has considered the

said representation and passed an order of rejection on 27.10.2017. However, the rejection order has been communicated to the detenu only on

07.11.2017. Thus, this inordinate delay in communicating the rejection order would vitiate the order of detention and hence, the same is liable to

be set aside.

We have heard the learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the State and perused the records carefully.

The issue involved in this Habeas Corpus Petition has already been dealt with, elaborately, by this Court reported in 2007(2) MWN (Cr.) 145

(DB), [Sumaiya v. The Secretary to Government, Prohibition & Excise Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, Fort St. George, Chennai and

another], wherein, this Court, after having considered various Judgments of the Hon''ble Supreme Court, in Paragraph No.6, has held as follows:-

6.... the delay in serving the rejection letter, viz., beteween 2.5.2007 and 7.5.2007 - a period of five days, was highlighted by the learned counsel

for the petitioner. Even though 5.5.2007 and 6.5.2007 happened to be the public holidays, there is no convincing reply on behalf of the State for

the delay in serving the rejection order on the detenu. We find some force as well as substance in this contention. We fail to understand as to why

the matter was delayed for three days (excluding Saturday and Sunday) between 2.5.2007 and 7.5.2007. There is absolutely no explanation for

this delay.

Following the said decision, this Habeas Corpus Petition is allowed and the impugned Detention Order, passed by the second respondent, in his

proceedings in P.D.No.69/2017 dated 11.10.2017 is quashed. The detenu, namely Geetha, daughter of Velappan, aged about 56 years, is

ordered to be set at liberty forthwith, if she is not required for detention in connection with any other case.