VIJAY KUMAR vs STATE OF J & K & OTHERS

The Supreme Court held that under Section 13(1) of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, the detaining authority must provide the detenu with the earliest opportunity to make a representation against the detention order. The Court found that the unexplained delay in dealing with the detenu's representation invalidated the detention order, emphasizing that the obligation to consider the representation must be fulfilled expeditiously. Consequently, the Court allowed the petition and invalidated the detention order due to the delay in processing the representation.