Showing posts with label personal liberty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal liberty. Show all posts

Sunday, 7 June 2026

Supreme Court: Sovereignty Prevails Over Personal Liberty When Nation Is Threatened By Drug Trade

However, we note that recently this Court in Tasleem Ahmed v. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi2 has referred the question concerning the approach of constitutional Courts in bail matters under special statutes, where "Article 21, prolonged incarceration and statutory restrictions intersect". In view of the said reference, we do not wish to deliberate on this issue further, save and except that in our view paramount consideration is nothing but interest of justice for all. Should there be any conflict between the sovereignty of country and personal liberty, undoubtedly, the former shall prevail, particularly, when a war is waged against the nation, be it in the form of supply of drugs, which vitally affects the national economy and health of the people. {Para 22}

 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Criminal Appeal No. 3037 of 2026

Decided On: 02.06.2026

State of Punjab Vs. Balraj Singh

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:

Sanjay Karol and N. Kotiswar Singh, JJ.

Author: Sanjay Karol, J.

Citation: MANU/SC/0609/2026

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Saturday, 11 July 2020

Whether magistrate can remand accused to custody even though investigating officer has not produced case diary?

 However, the submission made by the applicants that the learned Magistrate has committed an error in granting remand and ordering detention of the applicants from the beginning, as at no time the extracts of the case diary regarding investigation were submitted before the Magistrate, deserves to be accepted. The Magistrate before passing the order of detention or remand has to get himself satisfied regarding adequacy of grounds for the said purpose. This cannot be from what is stated in the application i.e. whether the investigation is complete or certain accused are to be arrested. He has to get himself satisfied from the case diary which is required to be maintained under section 172(1) by the Investigating Officer. It is obligatory upon every Investigating Officer to maintain the said diary which contains various details regarding the progress of the investigation. It is a chart or graph of the investigation which is carried out by the said officer as day to day progress of the investigation is required to be recorded in it. The said extract of the diary must be produced before the Magistrate when any remand or detention of the accused is claimed. The Magistrate must look into the same and get himself satisfied regarding adequacy of the grounds and pass necessary order. Without the extracts of the said diary of investigation or case papers, it is not possible for the Magistrate to find out the adequacy of grounds and to get himself satisfied. The Magistrate must indicate, however succinctly it may be, his satisfaction for detention or remand of the accused. Since the order passed by the learned Magistrate is having the effect of taking away the liberty of a person, which is a fundamental right guaranteed to every citizen under the Constitution of India, it must be scrupulously followed.

8. The learned advocate for the applicants cited MANU/GH/0013/1963, R. K. Nabachandra Singh v. Manipur Administration. It dealt with Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. Same provision is to be found in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, as Section 167 (with some modifications). It is observed - (at page 312 (of Cri LJ)

"...... if the police do not transmit to the Court a copy of the entries in the diary relating to the case, to satisfy the Magistrate that there are grounds for believing that the accusation or information is well-founded, and that a remand is absolutely necessary for the purpose of investigation, the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to direct the detention of the arrested person."

Similarly, in MANU/AP/0154/1955 : AIR 1957 AP 561, In re B. J. Reddi the Division Bench considered the effect of Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. It came to be observed as follows : at page 1065 (of Cri LJ)

"It is manifest that the provision relating to the transmission of a copy of the entries in the diary prescribed in S. 172 is mandatory and therefore imperative that every one of the officers answering the description in the section should send along with the remand report a copy of the case-diary which he is bound to keep under S. 172, Criminal Procedure Code. The object of enacting this section is that the entries in the diary afford to the Magistrate information upon which he can decide whether or not the detention of the accused person in custody should be authorised and also to enable him to form an opinion as to whether any further detention is necessary.

In the absence of the entries referred to in that section, it is difficult for the Magistrate to decide whether either the detention was authorised or the further detention is necessary. By not complying with the first requirement, the investigating officer render that part of the section which requires the transmission of entries in the case diary otiose. It is really astounding that a Police Officer should offer the explanation that it is not usual to send copies of case-diary in spite of an obligation cast on them by the section.

We are unable to understand how the Magistrate are able to act on the remand reports without the entries. These are very relevant in considering whether a further remand should be granted or not. We hope that the Magistrate acting under S. 167 would insist upon the mandatory provisions of the section being complied with."

IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT NAGPUR

Criminal Revision Application No. 61 of 1993

Decided On: 17.06.1993

Shrawan Waman Nade  Vs.  The State of Maharashtra

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
P.S. Patankar, J.

Citations: 1994 (2) BomCR 668, 1994 CriLJ 780, 1994 (1) MhLj 220,MANU/MH/0144/1993
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Friday, 14 February 2014

Whether a person can be deprived of right to travel in absence of enacted law?


A Full
Bench of the Kerala High Court in the case of Francis Manjooram vs. Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, reported in AIR 1966 Ker. 20 (FB), held that the expression personal liberty took in the right to travel.
23. In the
case of Satwant Singh Sawhney vs. D. Ramarathnam, Assistant Passport Officer, New Delhi,reported in AIR 1967 SC 1836, the Supreme Court held that right to travel abroad is fundamental right. In absence of law regulating or depriving a person of such right, refusal to give passport or withdrawal of one given violates Articles 21 and 14 of the Constitution of India. The expression personal liberty in Article 21 of the Constitution takes in the right of locomotion and to travel aboard, but the right to move throughout the territories of India is not covered by it inasmuch as it is specially provided in Article 19. Under Article 21, no person can be deprived of his right to travel except according to the procedure established by law.From the
reasons mentioned in the aforesaid case, it follows that under Article 21 of the Constitution, no person can be deprived of his right to travel except according to the procedure established by law. The law means 'enacted law' or 'State law'. In absence of any such 'enacted law' or State law', we hold that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to deprive the defendants, the respondents herein, of their right to go abroad.1

Gujarat High Court
State vs Prafulchandra on 9 February, 2011
Author: Mr.S.J.Mukhopadhaya, Mr.Justice K.M.Thaker
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