Gauhati High Court rules NSA detainees need no District Magistrate permission to meet family or lawyers and directs jail authorities to facilitate meetings
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court has ruled that a person detained under the National Security Act (NSA) does not require prior permission from the District Magistrate to meet family members, friends or a lawyer.
Justice Manish Choudhury issued the order while hearing a writ petition filed by Lakhi Doley, whose son, Pranab Doley, was placed under preventive detention under Section 3(2) of the NSA on July 30, 2026.
The petitioner approached the court after alleging that repeated requests to meet his son at Golaghat District Jail were denied and that he was asked to obtain permission from the District Magistrate.
Pranab Doley had earlier been arrested in connection with a case registered at Bokakhat Police Station and was granted bail by an Additional Sessions Judge on July 29. However, he remained in custody after an NSA detention order was issued before his release.
The High Court relied on the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Francis Coralie Mullin vs Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi, which recognised a detainee’s right to meet family members, friends and legal counsel as part of the constitutional guarantee of personal liberty and dignity.
The court observed that it was “not necessary for the petitioner to approach the District Magistrate” to meet his son. It directed the Superintendent of District Jail, Golaghat, to facilitate appointments sought by the detainee’s family without avoidable delay.
The court further directed that the detainee be allowed to meet “a legal advisor of his choice at any reasonable hour during the day” after obtaining an appointment from the jail superintendent. Any supervision by a jail official must be conducted outside the hearing distance of the detainee and lawyer.
With these directions, the High Court disposed of the petition and allowed the petitioner to present a downloaded copy of the order before the jail superintendent.
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