On 23 June, the Tamil Nadu State Public Prosecutor wrote to the DGP, asking the police officers in the state to not invoke preventive detention laws at the drop of a hat. The law officer said that most of the preventive detention orders get quashed by the High Court because they get passed in trivial cases too and not necessarily in those that affect public order, The Hindu reported.
A few days earlier, on 20 June, the Telangana High Court expressed its anguish over what it called the callous exercise of the exceptional power of preventive detention by the detaining authorities and the Telangana state government.
Dr V Suresh, Advocate, Madras HC and General Secretary PUCL said that many courts have spoken about the need for reform of preventive detention laws in India however, a sitting public prosecutor in Tamil Nadu criticising the preventive detention laws is a welcome move and it deserves huge appreciation. He added that such an event has not happened anytime in the last 40 years.
But what are the Preventive detention laws in India and are they misused by the state?