CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has stated that constitutional courts cannot permit detention of any person, if it is illegal, even for an hour as it affects the right to liberty enunciated and ensured in the Constitution. It also said the state shall show ‘restraint’ while exercising the powers to invoke Goondas Act for detaining anybody.
The observations were made by a vacation bench of justices S M Subramaniam and P Dhanabal on Tuesday while granting three months interim bail to YouTuber Varaaki after hearing a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by his wife Neelima seeking to quash the order of the Greater Chennai Police commissioner dated December 13, 2025, to detain him under the Goondas Act. He was arrested on November 30 in a case for allegedly sexually abusing the wife of the owner of a building which has been rented out to him.
The bench said the interim bail is granted for three months finding no sufficient ground to detain Varaaki under the Goondas Act by exercising the powers conferred under Article 226 and based on the Supreme Court’s order in the case of A Kamala. It directed the state to file counter-affidavit in 12 weeks.
Stating that certain police officers are invoking the Goondas Act to prolong the imprisonment of persons, the bench said if it is permitted to go on, it will have disastrous consequences.
It asked the home secretary to initiate departmental action has to be taken against those officials, who invoke the Goondas Act on citizens for ‘extraneous reasons’ in an erroneous and mechanical manner, and they have to be prosecuted if necessary. The bench said, “The right to liberty is enunciated and ensured in the Constitution. It is a fundamental right. Any illegal detention cannot be allowed to go on even for an hour if it is found to be contrary to law or done for extraneous reasons.”
Senior counsel Vikas Singh, representing the state, pressed for the court to grant three days time for filing the counter-affidavit and noted that the Writ Rules of the HC provides for eight weeks time to file counter-affidavit.