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Difficulty: MediumFundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties

Under Article 22 of the Constitution of India, what is the maximum period for which a person can ordinarily be detained under a preventive detention law without obtaining the opinion of an Advisory Board?

  1. A
    2 months
  2. 3 monthsAnswer
  3. C
    6 months
  4. D
    12 months

Answer

3 months
Under Article 22(4) of the Constitution of India, no law providing for preventive detention shall authorize the detention of a person for a period longer than three months unless an Advisory Board—consisting of persons who are, or have been, or are qualified to be appointed as Judges of a High Court—has reported before the expiration of the said three months that there is in its opinion sufficient cause for such detention. Although the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 passed a provision to reduce this maximum period to two months, that specific amendment was never officially brought into force, so three months remains the active constitutional standard.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the constitutional safeguards against preventive detention under Part III.
Identified Article 22(4) as the governing provision for detention limits without Advisory Board review.
Article 22 balances state security needs with protection against arbitrary detention.
2
Verify the operative constitutional timeframe specified in Article 22(4)(a).
The text explicitly sets three months as the threshold limit.
An Advisory Board must report sufficient cause before the expiration of three months to extend detention.
3
Check for statutory amendments or enforcement status regarding this provision.
The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act (1978) proposed reducing the limit to two months, but this amendment was never notified or brought into force.
The original three-month period remains the binding constitutional law.

Key Concept

Preventive Detention Safeguards under Article 22
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties

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