Prayagraj, Aug. 7 -- The Allahabad high court has termed as "deplorable" the passing of preventive detention orders under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act without application of mind or proper reference to the grounds of detention. The court urged the Union government to address such lapses at the earliest in the larger interest of the criminal justice delivery system. A division bench of Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi made the observation while allowing a habeas corpus petition filed by Gurmel Singh, who was detained under Section 3(1) of the PIT NDPS Act. The bench quashed the preventive detention order dated January 2, 2026, and directed that Singh be released forthwith. The court noted that the detention order was issued while the petitioner was already in judicial custody in an NDPS case. Although the grounds of detention stated that he was attempting to secure bail, the detaining authority failed to place any cogent material on record to show a real or imminent possibility of his release or explain why preventive detention was necessary despite his continued custody. The bench also observed that the state government had paid "mere lip service" to the mandatory legal requirements by mechanically stating that detention was necessary to prevent the petitioner from engaging in illicit drug trafficking. It held that the detaining authority must be reasonably satisfied, on the basis of cogent material, that there is a likelihood of the detenue indulging in criminal activities after release from jail. "The 'reasons to believe' should be based on reliable material and real possibility of the detenue misusing his liberty in case of release from jail," the court said. Finding that the detention orders had been passed without application of mind and without reference to the 'grounds of detention'. "Such a state of affairs is deplorable and needs to be redressed at the earliest by the Union Government in the larger interest of the criminal justice delivery system", observed the bench in its judgement dated July 31....