Detenu's representation must be forwarded to the Central Government; withholding it violates Article 22(5) and invalidates detention.

The detaining authority must forward a detenu's representation to the Central Government, and it cannot withhold a subsequent representation merely because an earlier one was rejected. The detenu's right to make a representation continues for so long as preventive detention subsists, and no limitation period curtails that right. The Central Government alone must decide whether the representation should be rejected on any ground. By refusing to forward the representation, the authority violated Article 22(5) of the Constitution and impaired the detenu's right to seek revocation under the National Security Act, 1980; the detention was held illegal.

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Issues: Whether refusal by the detaining authority to forward the detenu's representation to the Central Government violated the detenu's constitutional right to make a representation against preventive detention and rendered the continued detention illegal.

Analysis: The representation addressed to the Central Government had to be forwarded by the detaining authority. The existence of an earlier representation rejected by the Central Government did not authorise the detaining authority to withhold a subsequent representation. No period of limitation governs the detenu's right to make a representation so long as detention continues, and it is for the Central Government to decide whether the representation deserves rejection on any ground. The detaining authority could not pre-empt that consideration on its own.

Conclusion: The refusal to forward the representation violated Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India and infringed the detenu's right to seek revocation under Section 14 of the National Security Act, 1980. The detention was held illegal and the petition was allowed.

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