[KAAPA] Detaining Authority Has Duty To Provide Legible Copies Of Relevant Documents To Detenu: Kerala High Court

The Court passed the above order by relying upon Section 7(2) of KAAPA, which mandates that copies of relevant documents and materials must be furnished to the detenu.

The Division Bench of Justice P. B. Suresh Kumar and Justice Jobin Sebastian observed that detenu would get an effective opportunity to file a representation before the Advisory Board and Government only when he has legible copies of relied-upon documents.

“The obligation of the detaining authority to furnish legible copies of relied-upon documents to the detenu is not a mere formality. Only when the said procedure is scrupulously complied with, the detenu can file an effective representation before the Advisory Board and the Government. The right of the detenue to file an effective representation before the Government as well as the Advisory Board is a constitutional right under Article 22(5) and also a statutory right. Therefore, it is the duty of the detaining authority to ensure that the copies of the impugned order as well as the relevant documents which are furnished to the detenu at the time of effecting his arrest are legible so as to enable him to approach the Advisory Board as well as the Government, to make an effective representation.”

The writ petition is filed by the wife of the detenu challenging the detention order alleging that the said order was passed without following procedures under Section 7 of the KAA(P) Act. It is alleged that the detaining authority has not provided legible copies of the documents pertaining to the case registered against the detenu to show his last prejudicial activity. As a result, it was further alleged that detenu was unable to make an effective representation against the detention order before the Advisory Board.

On the other hand, the Public Prosecutor submitted that copies of all the relevant records were given to detenu, along with the grounds for his detention. It was also stated that he was informed of his right to file representation before the Advisory Board.

Section 7(1) of the KAAPA mandates that during arrest, an officer must order of detention and give a copy to the detenu. It further noted that Section 7 (2) mandates that grounds of detention shall be furnished to the detenu, specifying the instances of offences with copies of relevant documents.

The court noted that the detenu was aggrieved that he was not provided with documents that were legible. On verification, the Court noted that copy of the records, including vital documents like FIS, mahazar etc., provided to the detenu were not legible.

Court thus stated, “Therefore, the detenu was handicapped in filing an effective representation before the Advisory Board as the copies of the relied-upon documents served on him are illegible.”

The Court further stated that mere registration of FIR was not sufficient and further materials should exist for issuance of a detention order. It also noted that documents relied upon by detaining authority were also illegible. As such, the Court observed that objective as well as the subjective satisfaction arrived at by the detaining authority was apparently vitiated.

Thus, the Court set aside the detention order and directed for the release of the detenu.

Counsel for Petitioners: Advocates M.H.Hanis T.N., Lekshmi Shankar, Nancy Mol P., Anandhu P.C., Ann Mary Ansel, Sinisha Joshy, Ria Elizabeth T.J., Sahad M. Hanis

Counsel for Respondents: Public Prosecutor K A Anas

Case Title: Sneha Vijayan v State of Kerala

Case No: WP(CRL.) NO. 1392 OF 2024

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 74

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