Habeas Corpus Petition (HCP)

Context (TH): Madras HC delivered a split verdict on a habeas corpus petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthilbalaji’s wife.
One judge declared that the Minister’s June 14 arrest in a money-laundering case was illegal and ordered him to be released.
The judge stated that the Minister was in the custody of ED when the petition was heard on June 22, and such custody was illegal.
Other judges hold that the petition was not maintainable.

SC can issue directions/orders/writs to enforce fundamental rights.
The writs may include habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo-warranto.

The Latin term habeas corpus means ‘to have the body of’. It is an order issued by the court to a person who has detained another person to produce the body of the latter before it.
If the detention is illegal, SC would free the detained person.
The principal aim of the writ is to ensure swift judicial review of alleged unlawful detention.
Writ of habeas corpus can be invoked against the state or any individual holding any person in custody or detention.
In the Gopalan vs GOI case, SC ruled that the relevant date for deciding whether a person’s detention was legal or not would be the date when the court heard the petition related to his detention.

SC stated that an HCP could be entertained after passing a judicial remand order only in cases of absolute illegality, lack of jurisdiction, or wholesale disregard for fundamental rights.