Overview
- A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar set aside the District Magistrate’s order and the Telangana High Court’s affirmation.
- The judges called the State’s use of the Goonda Act a colourable exercise of power aimed at nullifying bail in pending NDPS cases.
- The ruling held that three registered offences or a “habitual offender” label do not justify preventive detention without material linking the conduct to public order.
- The Court found no material showing the narcotic was dangerous to public health, a statutory prerequisite for invoking preventive detention in this context.
- The appeal was allowed with directions to release the appellant from detention, reaffirming the distinction between law and order and public order and the need for recorded subjective satisfaction.