The Allahabad High Court has revoked the preventive detention of a drug offense suspect who was already jailed, cautioning against the unthinking application of preventive detention laws and calling on the central government to address systemic flaws in the justice process.
A two-judge bench consisting of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi delivered the decision on a habeas corpus writ submitted by Gurmel Singh, who was facing charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The court struck down the detention directive issued against Singh under Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act, 1988, ordering his immediate release.
Failure To Present Concrete Evidence
The challenged detention mandate was issued on January 2, 2026, a period during which Singh was already held in judicial custody for an NDPS case. While official records noted that Singh was seeking bail, the bench highlighted in its July 31 judgment that the detaining authority provided no solid evidence or substantiated rationale showing an immediate risk of his release or explaining why preventive custody was necessary for someone already behind bars.
The court stated that state authorities had performed mere ritualistic compliance with statutory mandates by asserting without proof that detention was essential to prevent further drug trafficking. According to the bench, detaining officials must hold a genuine belief supported by reliable documentation that an inmate poses a real likelihood of repeating unlawful activities if granted liberty.
Call For Systemic Redress
The PIT-NDPS Act permits the preventive detention of persistent offenders to curb drug trafficking networks. However, expressing serious concern over detention orders being executed without meaningful deliberation, the High Court called upon the central government to resolve these operational defects expeditiously in the broader interest of the criminal justice system.
