Recently, the Madhya Pradesh High Court dealt with a case in which a person remained in jail for over a year due to a clerical error in an NSA detention order. The matter brought to light how an administrative lapse during routine processing resulted in wrongful confinement under the National Security Act.
The individual was arrested on September last year and remained in custody until September this year, when the High Court ordered release. During this period, the family faced significant emotional and financial strain, with close relatives borrowing money to pursue legal remedies they struggled to understand. The person missed important family moments, including the birth of a child and early milestones, and now faces uncertainty regarding future employment due to the stigma attached to the detention.
The wrongful confinement occurred because the NSA order issued by the Shahdol district collector mentioned this individual’s name instead of the actual accused. Authorities initially referred to the mistake as a typing error, but the consequences of this oversight were severe and prolonged.
Before the Court, it was submitted that the detention was entirely unjustified and resulted solely from an administrative mistake. It was further contended that the deprivation of liberty and the impact on family life could not be compensated by any monetary amount.
A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice A K Singh examined the record and expressed serious concern. The Court observed that the detention order reflected non-application of mind on the part of the district administration. It also noted that the state government had failed to scrutinise the order before approving it, thereby allowing the error to pass through multiple levels of review.
In its decision, the Court ordered the immediate release of the detainee and issued a contempt notice to the district collector. The Court directed the collector to personally pay compensation of two lakh rupees for the wrongful confinement. It held that such negligence could not be dismissed as a minor clerical lapse when it directly results in the loss of personal liberty.
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