Mandatory communication of detention grounds within the statutory time limit is essential; unexplained delay invalidates preventive detention.

Preventive detention under the National Security Act required the grounds of detention to be communicated as soon as may be, ordinarily within five days and, in exceptional cases, within fifteen days with recorded reasons for delay. Because the grounds were served well beyond the ordinary period and the record showed no satisfactory or credible explanation for the delay, the mandatory requirement was breached. In matters affecting personal liberty, the provision had to be construed strictly, and the detenu's interim release on bail did not cure the defect. The detention order was therefore vitiated and liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether the order of detention was liable to be quashed for non-compliance with the mandatory requirement of communicating the grounds of detention within the time prescribed under Section 8(1) of the National Security Act, 1980.

Analysis: The statutory scheme required the detaining authority to communicate the grounds of detention as soon as may be, ordinarily within five days and, in exceptional circumstances, within fifteen days with recorded reasons for the delay. The grounds were served long after the ordinary period, and the record disclosed no satisfactory or credible explanation for the delay after the officer's last asserted attempt on 6-10-1986. In matters affecting personal liberty, the provision had to be construed literally and strictly, and the absence of recorded and acceptable reasons could not be excused by the fact that the detenu had been released on bail in the interregnum.

Conclusion: The detention order was vitiated for breach of the mandatory requirement under Section 8(1) and was liable to be quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: In preventive detention matters, failure to communicate the grounds of detention within the statutory time limit, without recorded and satisfactory reasons for delay, renders the detention order invalid and must result in quashing of the order.

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