M.SivaranjiniW/o. Mohanraj v. The Additional Chief Secretary to Government

HCP No. 269 of 2026__________Page 1 of 6IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRASDATED: 08-06-2026CORAMTHE HON'BLE DR.JUSTICE ANITA SUMANTHANDTHE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE SUNDER MOHANHCP No. 269 of 2026M.SivaranjiniW/o. Mohanraj, No.19, Egmore High Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008...Petitioner(s)Vs1.The Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, Secretariat, Fort, St.George, Chennai - 600 009.2.The Commissioner of Police, Office of the Commissioner of Police, Chennai.3.The Superintendent of Police, Central Prison, Puzhal, Chennai.4.The Inspector of Police,F2, Egmore Police Station, Chennai...Respondent(s)Prayer : Petition filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India praying for issuance of Writ of Habeas Corpus, calling for the records pertaining to the order of detention passed by the second respondent in his proceedings in No.649/BBCDEFGISSSV/2025, dated 04.09.2025 and quash the same as illegal and produce the detenue, namely Sanjay S/o. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis HCP No. 269 of 2026__________Page 2 of 6Ravi, aged 24 years Drug Offender now he is confined in Central Prison, Puzhal-II, Chennai before this Court and set him at Liberty. For Petitioner(s):Mr.C.Vigneshfor M/s.M.KalyaniFor Respondent(s):Mr.C.R.Malarvannan, Counsel for Government of Tamil Nadu(Criminal Side)ORDER(Order of the Court was made by Sunder Mohan J.)The sister of the detenu – Sanjay, aged 24 years, S/o.Ravi, has filed this petition challenging the detention order dated 04.09.2025, branding him as a ‘Drug Offender’ under Section 2(e) of the Tamil Nadu Preventive Detention Act, 1982 (Act 14/1982).2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Counsel for Government of Tamil Nadu (Criminal Side) for the respondents.3. It is seen from the impugned order and the grounds of detention that the detenu was arrested on 30.07.2025 and he was detained on 04.09.2025. Neither in the grounds of detention nor in the counter https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis HCP No. 269 of 2026__________Page 3 of 6affidavit filed by the 2nd respondent, any satisfactory explanation has been given for the delay in passing the order of detention. We are of the view that in view of the delay, the live and proximate link between grounds of detention and the purpose of detention, stood snapped. In this regard, we may rely upon the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in 'Sushanta Kumar Banik Vs. State of Tripura', reported in '2022 SCC OnLine SC 1333' and the relevant paragraph reads as follows:“21. It is manifestly clear from a conspectus of the above decisions of this Court, that the underlying principle is that if there is unreasonable delay between the date of the order of detention & actual arrest of the detenu and in the same manner from the date of the proposal and passing of the order of detention, such delay unless satisfactorily explained throws a considerable doubt on the genuineness of the requisite subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority in passing the detention order and consequently render the detention order bad and invalid because the “live and proximate link” between the grounds of detention and the purpose of detention is snapped in arresting the detenu. A question whether the delay is unreasonable and stands unexplained depends on the facts and circumstances of each case.” 4. Drawing inspiration from the judgment in Sushanta Kumar Banik's case, a co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of 'Gomathi https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis HCP No. 269 of 2026__________Page 4 of 6Vs. Principal Secretary to Government and Others', reported in '2023 SCC OnLine Mad 6332', had held that when there is an inordinate delay from the date of arrest/date of proposal till the order of detention, the live and proximate link between the grounds and purpose of detention would stand snapped.5. In yet another case i.e., in 'Nagaraj Vs. State of Tamil Nadu', reported in '(2018) 3 MWN (Cri) 428', this Court had held that the delay of 36 days in passing the detention order after the arrest of the detenu would snap the live and proximate link between the grounds and purpose of detention. Hence, in view of the unexplained and inordinate delay in passing the order of detention, after the arrest of the detenu, the detention order in the present case, is liable to be quashed.6.In light of the above discussion, this Habeas Corpus Petition is allowed and the Detention Order passed by the second respondent in Detention Order No.649/BBCDEFGISSSV/2025, dated 04.09.2025 is set aside. https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis HCP No. 269 of 2026__________Page 5 of 67.The detenu, viz., Sanjay, aged 24 years, S/o.Ravi, now confined in Central Prison, Puzhal, Chennai, is directed to be set at liberty forthwith, unless his presence is required in connection with any other case.(A.S.M.,J.) (S.M.,J.) 08-06-2026Index: Yes/NoSpeaking/Non-speaking orderNeutral Citation: Yes/NoIssue order copy today.dk https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis HCP No. 269 of 2026__________Page 6 of 6DR.ANITA SUMANTH, J.ANDSUNDER MOHAN, J.dkTo1.The Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, Secretariat, Fort, St.George, Chennai - 600 009.2.The Commissioner of Police, Office of the Commissioner of Police, Chennai.3.The Superintendent of Police, Central Prison, Puzhal, Chennai.4.The Inspector of Police,F2, Egmore Police Station, Chennai.5.The Joint Secretary, Law and Order Department, Secretariat, Chennai6.The Public Prosecutor, High Court, Madras. HCP No. 269 of 202608-06-2026