1975 (6) TMI 55 - HC - Indian Laws

Summary

Issues Involved:

1. Whether the entire detention order should be set aside if some grounds for detention are found invalid.
2. Whether the whole order of detention is vitiated if one or more grounds are irrelevant, non-existent, or bad.
3. Whether the detaining authority could have reasonably ordered detention based on valid grounds alone.

Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:

1. Whether the entire detention order should be set aside if some grounds for detention are found invalid:

The court concluded that if some grounds for detention are found invalid, the entire detention order must be set aside. It is not permissible for the court to probe further into whether the detaining authority would have passed the detention order based on the valid grounds alone. The court emphasized that it is impossible to predict what weighed with the detaining authority when it reached its subjective satisfaction, and thus, the entire order is vitiated if any ground is found invalid.

2. Whether the whole order of detention is vitiated if one or more grounds are irrelevant, non-existent, or bad:

The court held that when one or more grounds for preventive detention under Section 3 of the COFEPOSA Act are found to be irrelevant, non-existent, or bad, the entire order of detention is vitiated. The court cannot apply the tests of a reasonable man to exclude the irrelevant or non-existent grounds and consider whether the detaining authority would have reached the same subjective satisfaction on the remaining grounds. The court reaffirmed the principle that it is not possible to sever the good grounds from the bad ones and uphold the order based on the remaining valid grounds.

3. Whether the detaining authority could have reasonably ordered detention based on valid grounds alone:

Given the court's negative answer to the second part of question No. (2), the issue of whether the detaining authority could have reasonably ordered detention based on the valid grounds alone does not arise. The court reiterated that the entire detention order must be set aside if any ground is found to be invalid, making it unnecessary to consider whether the detaining authority would have reached the same conclusion based on the valid grounds alone.

Conclusion:

The court concluded that under the COFEPOSA Act, if any ground for detention is found to be invalid, irrelevant, or non-existent, the entire detention order is vitiated. The court cannot sever the invalid grounds from the valid ones and uphold the order based on the remaining valid grounds. The matter was referred back to the division bench to pass appropriate orders in light of these conclusions.