Illegible relied-upon documents can defeat constitutional safeguards in preventive detention and render the detention order unsustainable.

Detention under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act was held unsustainable because the supplied copies of relied-upon documents were illegible. The Court treated legibility as part of effective compliance with constitutional safeguards, since an unreadable supply of documents impairs the detenu's ability to understand and meet the grounds of detention. The High Court's contrary view was rejected, and the detention order was quashed with release directed unless required in other proceedings.

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Issues: Whether detention under Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 was liable to be quashed because the supplied copies of the relied-upon documents were illegible and the constitutional safeguards were thereby not complied with.

Analysis: The appellant had requested copies of documents in the possession of the authorities and copies were supplied, but they were not legible. In these circumstances, effective compliance with the constitutional safeguards could not be said to have been achieved. The illegibility of the supplied copies impaired the safeguard intended to be afforded to the detenu, and the High Court's contrary view could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The detention order was quashed and the appellant was directed to be released unless required in connection with any other proceedings.

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