Detenu Must Be Provided With Legible & Readable Documents, Failure To Do So Will Lead To Invalid Detention Order: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High court has recently held that the failure to provide legible and readable documents to detained persons will result in the detaining order becoming invalid.

A Division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K. V. Jayakumar held that the supply of unreadable documents violates section 7(2) of Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007 (KAAPA) and Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India, which which gives the detenu the right to be informed of the ground of detention and to make an effective representation.

The present petition was filed challenging an order of detention under KAA(P) Act. For the purpose of initiation of the proceeding, the detenu was classified as a 'known rowdy' under section 2 p(iii) of the KAA(P) Act. The detaining authority has taken into consideration a total of four criminal cases involving the detenu, the latest of which was under investigation while issuing the impugned order of detention.

The counsel for the petitioner, Adv. M H Hanis, contended that the mandated procedure under section 7 (2) of the KAA(P) Act was not strictly followed by the detaining authority and there was a delay of two months between the last prejudicial activity and the issuance of the detaining order.

The bench observed that the delay by the detaining authority could not be considered as inordinate snapping the live link. The non serving of legible copy of the documents were considered to vitiate the order of detention.

The bench relied on multiple Supreme Court rulings, including Pramod Singh v Union of India (2023) and Ramachandra A Kamat v Union of India (1980), to underscore that the right to receive readable copies of detention grounds is fundamental. 

The Court noted that even a technical lapse such as supplying unreadable documents can vitiate the detention if it compromises the detainee's right to represent. 

“No man can defend himself against an unknown threat,” the order said.

Case Title: Manjusha K.P v. State of Kerala 

Case No: WP (Crl.) No. 440 of 2025

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 393

Counsel for the petitioner: M.H. Hanis, T.N. Lekshmi Shankar, Nancy Mol P., Anandhu P.C., Neethu G. Nadh, Ria Elizabeth T.J., Sahad M. Hanis

Counsel for the respondent: .K.A. Anas, Public Prosecutor

Click Here To Read/Download Order