Kerala High Court sets aside a KAAPA detention because the documents were not given in a language the detenu knows

16 October 2026

A Division Bench of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. of the Kerala High Court set aside a detention order and its confirmation under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007 in Ayishath Ruksana v. State of Kerala, WP(Crl). No. 1247 of 2026.
The Court held that the detaining authority must supply the detention order and the material documents to the detenu in a language he knows. The detenu, a Kannada speaker, was not given translated copies of the Malayalam documents, which violated his right under Article 22(5) of the Constitution to make a representation against the detention.
Being informed of the contents orally was held not enough to satisfy Article 22(5).
The Court rejected the claim that the detention order was a verbatim copy of the sponsoring report and found no merit in the complaint about illegible documents. It directed the jail superintendent to release the detenu unless he was required in another case. The decision is reported as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 587.