Supreme Court Sets Aside Detention Under Karnataka Goondas Act.


26 September 2025
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India has set aside an order of preventive detention imposed on the son of Roopa, the appellant, under the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Gamblers, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Slum Grabbers and Video or Audio Pirates Act, 1985—the so-called Goondas Act.

The order of detention, with reference No. 04/CRM(4)/DTN/2025 dated 16 January 2025, had been made by the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City. Dissatisfied with the same, the appellant had challenged the order before the Karnataka High Court under a writ petition. The High Court, however, confirmed the detention, which led the appellant to move the Supreme Court.


 

 

On the hearing of the appeal, the advocate for the appellant pleaded that the detainee was never provided with the grounds of detention and that the materials under mandatory requirements were not presented before the Advisory Board within the timeline set forth in Section 10 of the Act. The submissions were that the High Court had overlooked such shortcomings while rejecting the writ petition.

In spite of notice being given, nobody from the State of Karnataka appeared before the Supreme Court. Noticing this and the arguments filed on behalf of the appellant, the bench led by Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma noted that the detainee had already been in custody for nine months. Finding merit in the arguments presented by the appellant and the lack of any counterarguments from the respondents, the Court quashed the order passed by the High Court.

The Supreme Court ordered that the appellant's son be released forthwith, subject to such conditions as may be determined by the trial court, unless his custody was necessary in some other criminal case. The appeal was thus granted and all relevant applications disposed of.