Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
Dipak Misra, C.J.I., A.M. Khanwilkar and Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud

JUDGMENT

Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J.

1. The High Court has set aside an order of detention issued Under Section 3(1)(ii) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act 1974¹ on the ground that the period of detention was not specified. In arriving at this conclusion, the High Court has relied upon a decision of this Court in Commissioner of Police v. Gurbux Anandram Bhiryani 1988 (Supp) SCC 568, and on a judgment of the High Court in S. Santhi v. The Secretary to Government, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, Secretariat, Chennai 2010 (3) MWN (Cr.) 42 (DB).

2. The Government of Tamil Nadu is in appeal.

3. The submission which has been urged is that though the period of detention has come to an end, it is necessary for the Court to correct the statement of legal position contained in the decision of the High Court. Learned Counsel has drawn the attention of the Court to the fact that the earlier decision of a Bench of two judges in Bhiryani (supra) was overruled by a Bench of three judges in T. Devaki v. Government of Tamil Nadu   MANU/SC/0201/1990 : (1990) 2 SCC 456.

4. In T Devaki v. Government of Tamil Nadu, a Bench of this Court has held that since the legislation does not require the detaining authority to specify the period for which a detenue is required to be detained, the order of detention is not rendered invalid or illegal in the absence of such specification. This Court held thus: