Ashima Mukherjee Mondal Vs Union of India & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging a preventive detention order passed under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PITNDPS Act). The petition was filed by the wife of the detenue, who challenged the detention order dated 20 March 2025 and its execution after a gap of about three months.
The petitioner contended that the detenue was already in judicial custody, that the detention order remained unexecuted from 20 March 2025 until 25 June 2025 without justification, and that the delay snapped the live and proximate link between the grounds of detention and its purpose. It was also argued that the detenue had not been supplied with certain screening committee documents, that references were made to Customs Act proceedings despite the detention being under the PITNDPS Act, that no proper hearing was granted, that the Advisory Board’s opinion was not served, and that the detenue, being conversant only with Bengali, received documents in English. The petitioner further submitted that the allegations were based primarily on statements of co-accused persons and relied upon Supreme Court judgments concerning delay in preventive detention, opportunity of hearing, and detention of persons already in custody.
