HC quashes detention over language barrier

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court last week struck down the detention of an individual under provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, on the ground that he was not served with an Urdu version of witness statements recorded in Marathi. The accused, Shahabaz Ahmed Mohammad Yusuf @ Commando, was detained on July 30, 2024, following an order passed by the Nashik district magistrate, in connection with nine offences registered at Pawarwadi, Ramjanpura city, Azad Nagar, Malegaon city and Malegaon camp police stations. Additional public prosecutor SV Gavand opposed the submissions and stated that the sponsoring authority, i.e., senior police inspector of Ayesha Nagar police station, had on April 8, 2024, forwarded a proposal for Yusuf’s detention under the MPDA Act to the additional superintendent of police, Malegaon, Nashik, which was received by the detaining authority on April 25, 2024. “The detainee was deprived of making the earliest effective representation, challenging the order of the detention, thereby affecting his valuable right under Article 22 of the Constitution of India, which mandates the clear communication of grounds of detention,” the court said, quashing his detention order and ordering his release from Nashik Central Prison.