Cannot restrain states from imposing NSA, says apex court

NEWDELHI: There cannot be a blanket court order restraining government from resorting to National Security Act (NSA), the Supreme Court said on Friday refusing to entertain a plea challenging imposition of NSA in Delhi and certain other states.

In a plea by advocate ML Sharma, a bench headed by justice Arun Mishra said that imposition of NSA is based on law and order considerations and the court cannot issue a general direction tie the hands of authorities” by passing broad directions.

“You are telling us to issue a direction to the government not to arrest. How can we do that”, the court asked Sharma and told him to withdraw his plea.

The court, however, said that it is open to considering individual cases of misuse of NSA by authorities as and when such instances are brought to the notice of the court.

The NSA is a preventive detention law which empowers the state to detain a person so as to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state or maintenance of public order. A person arrested under the act can be detained for a maxim period of twelve months.

Lieutenant governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal had passed the order on January 10 authorising the police to place the city under the National Security Act (NSA) from January 19 to April 18.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act,” the notification stated.

The notification came at a time when protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) have gathered momentum in various parts of the country.

ML Sharma had also made the states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur parties to the case in the plea.