States » SouthPosted at: Oct 6 2026 5:06PM


Kerala HC quashes KAAPA detention of BJP councillor Sugathan

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 6 (UNI) The Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed the preventive detention of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation BJP councillor R Sugathan under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), citing serious lapses in the procedure followed by the authorities.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S held that Sugathan was not furnished with legible and complete copies of all documents relied upon for his detention and that the Government failed to consider his representations independently and without undue delay.
The Bench directed the Superintendent of the Central Prison and Correctional Home, Viyyur, to release Sugathan forthwith, unless he was required in connection with any other case.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by Sugathan's wife, G R Aswathy, challenging the detention order issued by the Thiruvananthapuram District Collector on June 8 and the subsequent approval granted by the State Government.
The court found that several pages of the documents supplied to Sugathan were illegible and that certain pages were missing. Since the materials formed the basis of the detention order, the Bench held that their defective supply had denied him an effective opportunity to make a representation against his detention.
The State's contention that there had been substantial compliance with the requirement to furnish the documents was not accepted by the court.
The Bench also examined the delay in dealing with Sugathan's representations to the Government. It made it clear that the Government could not wait for the Advisory Board's opinion before independently considering a representation made by a detenue.
Such a delay, the court held, would affect the constitutional safeguard under Article 22(5), which requires preventive detention representations to be considered without undue delay.
The detention order described Sugathan as a "known rowdy" and relied on seven criminal cases registered against him between 2019 and 2026. The latest case cited by the authorities was registered on March 22 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Senior Advocate Saurav Mishra, appearing for Aswathy, submitted that the representations made by Sugathan before the Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, and the Chief Secretary were not independently considered by the Government and that the authorities had waited for the Advisory Board's opinion.
He also submitted that investigations in six of the cases relied upon for the detention had been completed and final reports filed. Sugathan had obtained bail in five cases, had not been arrested in one case and had secured anticipatory bail in another.
Opposing the petition, the Director General of Prosecution submitted that Sugathan had been on the rowdy list since 2014 and that 22 criminal cases had been registered against him. The prosecution also cited externment orders issued against him in 2023 and 2025.
The State further alleged that Sugathan had refused to accept the arrest intimation and had assaulted a police officer who went to arrest him. It argued that defects in some pages of the documents, even if established, would not invalidate the detention order.
The High Court, however, emphasised that preventive detention involves the curtailment of fundamental rights without a criminal trial and that the safeguards prescribed under the law must therefore be strictly complied with.
The Bench also observed that the authorities should consider other statutory measures available to prevent activities prejudicial to public order before resorting to preventive detention.
Sugathan, who represents Ward 20 (Vazhottukonam) in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, was elected in the 2025 local body elections and subsequently detained under KAAPA.
His detention had earlier resulted in another intervention by the High Court. In July, the court directed the authorities to facilitate his taking the councillor's oath from inside Viyyur Central Prison after his original oath was declared invalid. He subsequently took the oath while in prison. The case is Aswathi G R v State of Kerala and Others, W.P.(Crl.) No. 1269 of 2026.
UNI DS
Tags: #Kerala HC quashes KAAPA detention of BJP councillor Sugathan
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