Preventive detention and mala fides: pending criminal investigation alone did not justify immediate judicial interference.

Preventive detention under the Preventive Detention Act was challenged on mala fides and alleged abuse of power where a criminal investigation on substantially the same facts was already pending and bail had been granted. The Court accepted that pendency or imminent prosecution is a relevant factor when testing bona fides, and that mala fides and executive abuse are justiciable grounds under Article 226. It also noted that preventive detention may affect judicial investigation. On the material then available, however, the Court was not satisfied that mala fides was established or that interference was warranted before the statutory Board considered the matter and wider materials.

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Issues: Whether the Court should interfere under Article 226 with orders of preventive detention on the ground of mala fides when a regular criminal investigation on substantially the same facts was pending and the matter was also before the statutory Board.

Analysis: The detention orders were passed under the Preventive Detention Act, 1950, as amended in 1951. The petitioners relied on the pendency of the criminal case, the grant of bail in that case, and the contention that the detention was punitive or intended to bypass criminal procedure. The Court accepted that a pending or imminently prospective prosecution is a relevant circumstance when testing bona fides, and that such detention may seriously affect judicial investigation. It also recognised that mala fides and abuse of power are justiciable grounds. However, on the material then available, the Court was not satisfied that the detention was shown to be mala fide, nor that the executive had so clearly overstepped its authority as to justify interference at that stage, especially when the statutory Board was shortly to consider the matter and could examine wider materials.

Conclusion: The Court declined to interfere with the detention orders at that stage and rejected the applications.

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