Sat Jun 28 11:03:37 UTC 2025: **News Article:**

**Supreme Court Orders Release of Law Student Detained Under National Security Act**

**New Delhi, June 28, 2025:** The Supreme Court of India has ordered the immediate release of a law student from Madhya Pradesh who was preventively detained under the National Security Act (NSA). A bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and K. Vinod Chandran found the detention order issued by the District Magistrate of Betul, Madhya Pradesh, on July 11, 2024, to be “wholly untenable.”

The student, identified as Annu alias Aniket, was initially arrested following an altercation at a university campus in Betul involving a professor. He was charged with attempted murder and other related offenses. While in jail, authorities issued a detention order under the NSA, which was subsequently extended every three months.

The Supreme Court, upon reviewing the detention order, stated that the reasons cited for the preventive detention did not meet the requirements of the National Security Act, 1980. The court also pointed to other irregularities, including the District Collector deciding on the student’s representation without forwarding it to the State government, and failing to adequately justify the need for preventive detention given the student was already in custody for other criminal charges.

The court acknowledged the state government’s argument that Annu had nine criminal antecedents, but noted that he had been acquitted in five of those cases, fined in one, and was out on bail in the remaining two. The court also highlighted that Annu had been granted bail in the present criminal case in January 2025, making his continued detention solely based on the NSA order.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had previously dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Annu’s father, citing his “long history of criminal cases” and perceived threat to public peace. However, the Supreme Court’s decision overrides the High Court’s ruling. The Supreme Court directed Annu’s immediate release from Central Jail in Bhopal, provided he is not required in any other criminal cases. A detailed reasoned order will follow, the bench stated.

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