Bombay High Court quashes detention of accused citing failure to provide Urdu translation of Marathi statements

The Bombay High Court recently set aside a detention orders passed under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act after finding that the detained person (detenue) was not served with the Urdu translation of the statements made by witnesses thereby, depriving him of his constitutional right to effectively challenge the detention order. [Mohammad Yusuf v State of Maharashtra].The Bench of Justices Sarang V Kotwal and SM Modak observed that the witness statements rendered in Marathi were not provided to detenue Shahabaz Ahmed Mohammad Yusuf in Urdu, a language he was familiar with. "It was equally important for the detaining authority to have served the detenue with the Urdu translation of the Marathi in-camera statements. That was not done. Therefore, the detenue is deprived of making the earliest effective representation challenging the order of the detention, thereby affecting his valuable right under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of the India," the Court said while quashing the detention..Yusuf was detained under the MPDA Act on July 30, 2024 based on his alleged involvement in a series of criminal activities. He stood accused of committing several crimes between 2018 and 2020 including assault and robbery. The detention order primarily relied on a criminal case from March 2024, where Yusuf and his accomplices allegedly assaulted the complainant and robbed him of his mobile phone and cash. The detention order also referred to two in-camera statements made by witnesses (A and B) who had witnessed separate incidents in January and February 2024, in which Yusuf allegedly committed crimes, including assault and theft..Yusuf's counsel primarily raised two arguments. Firstly, she contended that the detention order was passed after an unreasonable delay since no urgency was shown by the authorities despite the alleged criminal activities. Secondly, she argued that the detenue was not provided with the Urdu translation of in-camera statements made in Marathi by the witnesses.This affected his ability to challenge the detention effectively..In its ruling, the Court found merit in both arguments. The Court noted that while the detenue had been provided the detention order and grounds for detention in Urdu, the in-camera statements of witnesses, which were crucial to the case, were not translated and were served only in MarathiThese statements made by witnesses who had seen the detenue's alleged crimes, were integral to the detention decision. As a result, the detenue's right to make a timely and effective representation was compromised. .The Court also pointed out the unexplained and unreasonable delay in passing the detention order, which the authorities failed to justify. Consequently, the Court quashed and set aside the detention order and directed Yusuf's immediate release unless required for any other case."The detention order is quashed and set aside. The rule is made absolute in the aforesaid terms. The detenue shall be released forthwith if not required in any other case," the order said..Advocate Aisha Z Ansari appeared for Yusuf.Additional Public Prosecutor SV Gavand appeared for the State..[Read Order]