Why in the News?
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, leading the demand for statehood and Sixth Schedule protections for Ladakh, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) in Leh.
About the National Security Act, 1980:
- Enactment: Passed on 23 September 1980; applicable across India (earlier not in Jammu & Kashmir).
- Constitutional Basis: Rooted in Article 22(3)(b) (preventive detention permitted) and Article 22(4) (limit of 3 months unless Board approves).
- Objective: Provides for preventive detention to safeguard defence, national security, public order, foreign relations, and essential supplies/services.
- Grounds for Detention: Acts prejudicial to India’s defence or security, harming foreign relations, disturbing public order, endangering essential supplies, or regulating foreigners’ presence/expulsion.
- Authorities Empowered: Centre, States, District Magistrates, and Police Commissioners (if authorised).
- Duration: Detention up to 12 months; must communicate grounds within 5 days (extendable to 15). A person can be held 10 days without disclosure of charges.
- Advisory Board: Composed of three persons qualified to be High Court judges. Orders reviewed within 3 weeks; if no sufficient cause exists, release is mandatory.
- Background: Builds on colonial-era Bengal Regulation III (1818), Rowlatt Acts (1919), post-independence Preventive Detention Act (1950), and MISA (1971, repealed 1977). Reintroduced by Indira Gandhi in 1980.
Legal Options after Arrest under NSA:
- Representation to Government: Detainee can file a written representation challenging detention.
- Advisory Board Review: Must be reviewed within 3 weeks; release ordered if detention unjustified.
- Judicial Remedies: Writ petition in High Court (Art. 226) or Supreme Court (Art. 32).
- Revocation: Centre or State may revoke detention anytime.
- Limitations: No right to lawyer before Advisory Board; grounds may be withheld in “public interest.”
| [UPSC 2023] Consider the following statements:
1. According to the Constitution of India, the Central Government has a duty to protect States from internal disturbances. 2. The Constitution of India exempts the States from providing legal counsel to a person being held for preventive detention. 3. According to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, the confession of the accused before the police cannot be used as evidence. How many of the above statements are correct? (a) Only one* (b) Only two (c) All three (d) None |
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