MADRAS: An application for the issue of a writ of Habeas Corpus filed on behalf of Mr. S. V. Ghate, a Communist leader of Bombay now a detenue in Rajahmundry Jail, was dismissed by Their Lordships the Chief Justice and Mr. Justice McCnett in the Madras High Court today [March 24].

Their Lordships held that the court had no power to entertain such an application according to Detention Ordinance 3 of 1944.

It was contended on behalf of Mr. Ghate that he was a prominent member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. On March 1939, he was served with an order directing him to leave Madras city and reside in Mangalore municipal limits. He complied with that order but in March 1944, he was arrested and detained since then for reasons unknown to him. He had prayed several times in vain to the Government to either prosecute him or release him and he now contended that his detention was illegal.

[Meanwhile;] the Civil Disobedience detenus confined in the Punjab jails have been allowed the concession of playing out-door games. (Dawn, Delhi)

Opinion

Editorial

Regional climbdown
04 Mar, 2026

Regional climbdown

WITH the region in flames, Pakistan must calibrate its foreign policy accordingly; it has to deal with some ...
Burning questions
Updated 04 Mar, 2026

Burning questions

A credible, independent, and time-bound inquiry is now necessary after the US Consulate protest ended in gruesome bloodshed.
Governance failure
04 Mar, 2026

Governance failure

BENEATH Lahore’s signal-free corridors and road infrastructure lies a darker truth: crumbling sewerage lines,...
Iran endgame
Updated 03 Mar, 2026

Iran endgame

AS hostilities continue following the Israeli-American joint aggression against Iran, there seems to be no visible...
Water concerns
03 Mar, 2026

Water concerns

RECENT reports that India plans to invest $60bn in increasing its water storage capacity on the Jhelum and Chenab...
Down and out
03 Mar, 2026

Down and out

ANOTHER Twenty20 World Cup, another ignominious exit — although this time Pakistan did advance past the first...