Aruna Sen v. Government of Bangladesh (1975) 27 DLR (HCD) 122 is a case of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The case concerns unlawful detention under the Special Powers Act, 1974 (SPA). The judgement set a precedent for invalidating most detentions under the SPA. Background The original 1972 Constitution of Bangladesh included no provision for preventive detention. Part III of the original constitution provided strong safeguards for civil and political rights, including the right not to be arbitrarily detained. In Article 26 (2), it provided that any law inconsistent with any provision in Part III would, "to the extent of such inconsistency, become void". Article 32 added that "no person shall be deprived of personal liberty save in accordance with law." With Article 33, Part III proceeded to create three safeguards for the rights of detainees: they must be informed of the grounds of their arrest "as soon as may be", they must have a "right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner" and they must be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest. The spirit of 1972 did not last long. In September 1973, only nine months after the constitution was created, parliament passed Act XXIV, also known as the Second Amendment Bill. Now, Article 26 no longer provided an absolute safeguard of "fundamental rights" but allowed them to be circumvented by amendments. Furthermore, the addition of Article 33(3) allowed preventive detention and exempted it from constitutional safeguards for arrest and detention. Parliament was quick to make use of its newly granted authority. Five months later, on 9 February 1974, it enacted the Special Powers Act, 1974 (SPA). The act was purportedly designed to crush black marketers and smugglers, said to be responsible for the food shortages throughout the country. As political dissent by left-wing guerrillas intensified, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman cracked down through a series of measures: a printing and press ordinance, a three-month ban on strikes, a ban on public gatherings, the declaration of a state of emergency under which civil rights were suspended and finally the establishment of one-party rule in 1975. The Special Powers Act (SPA) proved to be a useful instrument in that process. Facts The detention of Chanchal Sen, who had been taken away by the Rakki Bahini, was challenged by a writ petition, under Article 102 (2) (b) (i) of the