Is detention under NSA democratic, Madras HC asks TN

Chennai: Granting bail to an advocate arrested under National Security Act (NSA), the Madurai bench of Madras high court has asked the government  whether it is a democracy or a police state to detain a person under the NSA.

The division bench comprising Justices C.T. Selvam and A.M.Basheer Ahmed, before which a habeas corpus petition from wife of an advocate Hari Raghavan came up for hearing, has directed Thoothukudi District Collector Sandeep Nanduri to appear before the bench on Wednesday.

In the petition, Sathiabama, wife of advocate, G.Hari Raghavan, submitted that her husband and Vanchinathan were accused on charge of engineering the violence that led to police firing on May 22 during the anti Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi.

After Vanchinathan’s anticipatory bail petition was dismissed by the court, police rrested advocate Vanchinathan. Later, bail was granted to him.

On July 6, Hari Raghavan surrendered before the judicial magistrate in Madurai and was remanded in all the 91 cases police booked against him.

On July 26, the district collector passed an order detaining Hari Raghavan under NSA. She said the detention order was passed with a malicious intention to defeat the bail order issued by the court.

When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, the bench has summoned district collector, Sandeep Nandhuri to appear before the bench on Wednesday.