1972 (2) TMI 88 - SC - Indian Laws

Court upholds detention order despite confirmation post 3-month deadline, applying exclusion rule. Legal principles emphasized.

The court upheld the detention order in a case where the confirmation was made one day after the three-month period from the date of detention expired. ... Detention orders - Held that:- Appeal dismissed. On computing the period of three months from the date of detention, which was February 5, 1971, before the expiration of which the order or decision for confirming the detention order and continuation of the detention thereunder had to be made, the date of the commencement of detention, namely, February 5, 1971, has to be excluded. So done, the order of confirmation was made before the expiration of the period of three months from the date of detention. The contention raised on behalf of the petitioner, thus, cannot be sustained Issues:- Validity of detention order confirmation made after the expiration of the three-month period from the date of detention.Analysis:The petitioner was detained on February 5, 1971, under the West Bengal (Prevention of Violent Activities) Act. The detention order was confirmed and continued by the State Government on May 5, 1971, one day after the three-month period from the date of detention expired. The main contention raised was the validity of the confirmation order made after the expiration of the specified period.The key legal question revolved around the computation of time in legal contexts. The court referred to established principles from English law regarding the exclusion of the first day and inclusion of the last day when calculating a specified period. Various English cases were cited to support the distinction between a term created for an act to be done and a time limit for the act's completion. The court emphasized that when a period is defined from a specific day to another day for an act to be performed, the first day is typically excluded, and the last day is included.In this case, the court applied the general rule of excluding the day of commencement of the period when computing the three-month duration from the date of detention. Since the detention started on February 5, 1971, the order of confirmation made on May 5, 1971, was within the three-month period. Consequently, the contention raised by the petitioner regarding the validity of the confirmation order made after the specified period was dismissed. The court upheld the detention and dismissed the writ petition.Therefore, the court's decision was based on the legal interpretation of time computation rules, which favored the exclusion of the day of detention when calculating the three-month period. The judgment highlighted the importance of established legal principles in determining the validity of administrative decisions within specified timeframes.