The Bombay High Court has quashed a detention order against Shahabaz Ahmed Mohammad Yusuf, a resident of Nashik, on grounds that he was not provided with translated witness statements in Urdu, his primary language. The decision was made by a division bench consisting of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S M Modak on March 21, with details made public on Friday.
The court highlighted that the failure to provide translations of the witness statements from Marathi to Urdu deprived Shahabaz of his ability to effectively challenge the detention order, thereby impacting his fundamental rights. “Since the statements were not given in the language the detenue was familiar with, his ability to challenge the detention order quickly was hindered,” the judgment read.
Shahabaz had been served with a detention order in July 2024 by the Nashik district magistrate citing nine pending cases against him. However, while he received an Urdu translation of the detention order itself, the witness statements crucial to the case were not translated, leaving him unable to fully understand the allegations or respond appropriately.
“It was equally important for the detaining authority to have served the detenue with the Urdu translation of the Marathi in-camera statements,” the judges stated. They emphasized that the lack of translated documents prevented Shahabaz from making an effective representation against the detention order, a fundamental right under the Constitution.
