Preventive detention by an officer below District Magistrate rank was invalid where formal appointment was required by statute.

Preventive detention under the Defence of India Act and the Defence of India Rules was valid only if made by the State Government or by an officer not below the rank of District Magistrate. An Additional District Magistrate, even if invested with the powers of a District Magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure or other law, did not become a District Magistrate unless formally appointed as such under the Code. Temporary charge of district administration and administrative instructions were insufficient to satisfy the statutory requirement. The detention order was therefore invalid because it was made by an officer below the rank required by the statute.

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Issues: Whether an order of preventive detention under the Defence of India Act and the Defence of India Rules could validly be made by an Additional District Magistrate who had not been appointed as District Magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Analysis: The power of detention under the Act and the Rules was confined to the State Government or an officer not lower in rank than a District Magistrate. The statutory scheme also showed that an Additional District Magistrate, even if invested with all the powers of a District Magistrate under the Code or any other law, remained below the rank of a District Magistrate unless appointed as such under the Code. A temporary arrangement to hold current charge of the district administration did not amount to a statutory appointment as District Magistrate, and instructions could not replace the required governmental order.

Conclusion: The detention order was invalid because it was made by an officer who was not the District Magistrate and was below the rank required by the statute.

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