State Of Maharashtra & Ors vs Santosh Shankar Acharya

The Supreme Court held that failure to inform a detenu of their right to make a representation to the Detaining Authority under sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Boot-leggers, Drugs Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act, 1981, constitutes a violation of Article 22(5) of the Constitution. The Court affirmed the Full Bench of the Bombay High Court's decision that such failure invalidates the detention order. The Court emphasized that the detaining authority retains the power to entertain representations until the order is approved by the State Government as per sub-section (3) of Section 3 of the Act.