Busi on Preventive Detention in India

Ishika Busi (Symbiosis Law School Hyderabad) has posted Preventive Detention in India (Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research Volume III Issue II) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Part III of the Indian Constitution details the rules for how the Union and the States use preventive detention laws and guarantees various fundamental rights to individuals. Some people have been alarmed by the haste with which preventive detention has been used as a law enforcement tool, and the use of these powers for political reasons has frequently received the most criticism. Despite this conflict, the constitutional framework that governs the law governing preventive detention has surprisingly not been found to be problematic. This essay targets Article 22 of the Constitution and argues that the Constitution's minimum threshold for legislatures is appallingly inadequate. I argue that Article 22 is sabotaging these ideals rather than protecting individual liberty from legislative tyranny. Therefore, when should Article 22 be removed from the Constitution? Or, dare I say, is it finally time to confront our arrogance as Indians regarding the yearly detention of thousands without trial?