The intention behind the book being “Elaborative Description and Easy understanding” of the topic- Preventive Detention. The act which loomed up menacingly from the year of its commencement. Attracting every possible fatalistic comment. Preventive Detention laws are thriving between the need for restraining an individual to such suspicious restrainment hampering the Liberty of the individual in India. The topic is deciphered in a manner approachable to people of every parlance, seeking to learn a word about Preventive Detention Laws, prevailing in India. The book is easy with words, chapter divisions covering the important topics, incidental anecdotes, coverage of important topics, and the easy description, making this book a must-read.

Preventive Detention and the Democratic State tracks the transformation of preventive detention from an emergency measure into an ordinary law enforcement tool in the democratic world. Historically, democracies used preventive detention only in the extraordinary circumstance in which the criminal justice system was impotent. They preferred criminal prosecution and its strict due process requirements to detaining people for a crime they may never commit. This book shows that major democracies have begun using detention as an insurance policy against dangerous people. In the process, they have embarked on a slippery slope that allows them to use preventive detention to bypass the criminal justice system. Already, detention has established a separate, inferior legal system for certain suspected criminals. Comparing preventive detention in India, England and the United States, the book brings to light its potentially dire consequences for the rule of law, due process rights and democratic principles based on the very real experiences of these countries.

1974.

A just, fair, reasonable, and purposeful exercise of arrest and detention powers by the State is both in the interest of the individual and the society at large. However, very often individual rights are impinged by arbitrary and illegal exercise of State power to arrest and detain. The book studies issues pertaining to arrest and detention, comprehensively, critically, and analytically, in the light of the Indian Constitution. It points out that the arrest and detention provisions in the legal system of India, by and large, have remained the same as inherited from the imperial British era. Despite constitutional prescriptions and judicial pronouncements over several decades, there has been no noteworthy change that would bring the law in tune with the constitutional emphasis on right to life and personal liberty as well as other human rights. To capture the complexity of the issue, the volume analyses constitutional provisions, statutory law, pertinent judgments, case law, reports of various committees, and recommendations of experts in the field. Exploring lacunae in the present legal scenario, the book stresses on the need for organizational and attitudinal changes in the State instrumentalities for successfully balancing the need to maintain law and order and human rights imperatives. Emphasizing that it is the poor who often suffer the most, the author further advocates inclusion of the developments in the field of jurisprudence, behavioural sciences, technology, and management to deal with crime and criminality.

The civil rights of Indian citizens are guaranteed both in the Indian Constitution and through the State's international commitments. Despite these guarantees, the civil rights framework encounters numerous challenges from the State—problematic counter-terrorism laws, continuation of the death penalty, misuse of arrest and preventive detention powers, lack of implementation, and impunity. Through nine incisive essays on both traditional and emerging issues, this volume examines the prevailing imbalance between individual rights and State power. Many laws designed to protect the State do little more than protect State power at the expense of her citizens, directly flouting the Constitution, international law, and democratic principles. The authors critically analyse most of these laws, examining their justifications, background debates, and evolution, along with how they violate constitutional and international law. Taking into account relevant and contemporary comparative case law and developments in international law, this book makes a strong case for bold legal reforms and suggests various measures for improvement.

Reflecting the work of an international panel of experts, the International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law offers an in-depth and multidisciplinary look at key aspects of the development and etiology of psychopathic disorders, current methods of intervention, treatment and management, and how these disorders impact decision making in civil and criminal law.