Preventive detention requires full disclosure of basic facts and material particulars to enable an effective representation.

In preventive detention, Article 22(5) of the Constitution and Section 8 of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act require the detaining authority to communicate not only the formal ground of detention but also all basic facts and material particulars forming the real factual basis of its satisfaction, unless withheld on public interest grounds. The material supplied to the detenu omitted vital particulars from the history sheet and FIR, including the nature, extent, and surrounding circumstances of the alleged acts. That truncation prevented an effective representation, so the detention order was vitiated and illegal.

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Issues: Whether the detention order was invalid for failure to communicate all basic facts and material particulars forming the grounds of detention, thereby denying the detenu an effective opportunity to make a representation.

Analysis: The requirement in Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India and Section 8 of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act is not confined to a bare recital of the formal ground of detention. It extends to all basic facts and material particulars which formed the factual basis of the detaining authority's subjective satisfaction, unless disclosure is withheld on public interest grounds. The material served on the detenu omitted vital particulars from the history sheet and the FIR, including the nature and extent of the acts alleged and the surrounding circumstances relied upon by the authority. As a result, the communicated ground was truncated and insufficient to enable an effective representation.

Conclusion: The detention order was vitiated and illegal.

Ratio Decidendi: In preventive detention, the detenu must be supplied with all basic facts and material particulars that constitute the real grounds of detention so as to enable an effective representation under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India.

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