Preventive detention invalid for non-application of mind where incident time in the order contradicted the supporting record.

A preventive detention order was held invalid because the detaining authority recorded the incident time as 1800 hours even though the relied-upon materials, including the FIR and mahazars, showed that the incident occurred at 6.00 a.m. The mismatch was treated as a substantive inconsistency, not a mere typographical error, because the record as a whole contradicted the authority's assumption that the event happened in the evening. The order was therefore vitiated by non-application of mind and quashed.

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Issues: Whether the detention order was vitiated for non-application of mind because the detaining authority recorded the time of the incident as 1800 hours though the supporting materials showed that the incident occurred at 6.00 a.m.

Analysis: The detention order proceeded on the basis that the incident occurred in the evening and that nearby shopkeepers closed their shops out of fear. The relied-upon records, including the first information report and connected documents, showed that the incident and the subsequent mahazars were all in the morning. The discrepancy between 6.00 a.m. and 1800 hours was not a mere typographical error, because the figures themselves were wholly inconsistent with the record. This demonstrated that the detaining authority had not properly applied its mind to the materials before passing the order.

Conclusion: The detention order was vitiated by non-application of mind and was liable to be quashed.

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