The Bombay High Court quashed a preventive detention order passed by a magistrate in Jalgaon district against 20-year-old Dikshant Sapkale, terming it illegal and a colourable exercise of power. The Court also directed the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation, to be recovered from the salary of the magistrate who issued the order.
Dikshant Sapkale contended that the detention order, passed in July 2024, was not served upon him immediately and was handed over only in May this year, coinciding with his release on bail in another case. Upon receipt of the order, he was again taken into custody.
The High Court noted that keeping a detention order pending for several months and serving it at the moment of release constituted a colourable exercise of power. It observed that the detaining authority had acted in an arbitrary and unconstitutional manner, resulting in the violation of the petitioner’s fundamental rights to life and personal liberty.
The Bench further highlighted that preventive detention is an extraordinary measure that must comply with constitutional and statutory safeguards. It noted procedural defects, including that the detention documents were provided in English instead of the language understood by the accused, and there was no plausible explanation for the delay in service.
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