Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
The Madras High Court on Friday, May 29, struck down the preventive detention of Chennai-based realtor Santosh Sharma under the Goondas Act, 1923, and sharply criticised senior IPS officer A Arun, who had issued the detention order while serving as Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police.
A Division Bench comprising Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan held that the detention was unjustified and appeared to have been ordered for reasons unrelated to the requirements of the law. The judges noted that Sharma’s alleged activities did not pose a threat to public order, a key requirement for invoking preventive detention.
The court observed that Arun, a senior IPS officer with 28 years experience, was fully aware of the legal standards governing such orders. Despite this, he proceeded with the detention based on incidents that had occurred more than two years earlier. The Bench said the circumstances suggested the order had been passed knowingly and not due to any misunderstanding of the law.
Sharma had been detained in September 2025 under the Goondas Act and remained in custody for over eight months without trial. The cases against him were primarily related to allegations of cheating, including a complaint filed by S Poornajothi, wife of DMDK Rajya Sabha member LK Sudheesh.
According to the court, the authorities relied on old and outdated material that had no immediate connection to any present threat posed by Sharma. The judges found no urgent need for preventive detention and said there was no “live and proximate link” between the cited incidents and the detention order.
The Bench also pointed out that this was not the first time Arun had faced judicial scrutiny over such actions. It referred to earlier preventive detention orders issued by him against YouTuber Savukku Shankar and another individual named Varaaki.
Allowing Sharma’s plea, the court cancelled the detention order and directed that he be released immediately, unless he was required to remain in custody in connection with any other pending case.