The Supreme Court on Friday refused to pass a “blanket order” against Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s decision to place Delhi under the National Security Act (NSA), a law which allows the police to place anyone considered a threat to national security, law and order under preventive detention. A Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra told petitioner-advocate Manohar Lal Sharma that the court cannot pass such general directions, which would “tie” the hands of the authorities. “These are law and order issues. Withdraw the petition and we give you liberty to approach the court citing individual cases of misuse of NSA powers,” Justice Mishra said. The lawyer argued that the January 10 notification was an affront to free speech and expression and the right to dignity.

Source: The Hindu January 24, 2020 12:15 UTC