N. MEERA RANI vs GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU & ANR.

The Supreme Court held that under Section 3(2) and Section 12(1) of the National Security Act, 1980, the subsisting custody of a detenue does not invalidate a detention order. The Court emphasized that while preventive detention is generally unnecessary when the detenue is already in custody, the detaining authority must consider this factor and can validly issue a detention order if there is a reasonable likelihood of release and sufficient material indicating the need for preventive measures. In this case, the detention order was quashed as it was made when the detenue was already incarcerated without any prospect of release, thus rendering it invalid.