Terming preventive detention a draconian provision, the Supreme Court has held that the government’s inability to tackle the law and order situation should not be an excuse to invoke it. The court differentiated between public disorder and law and order problems, stating that preventive detention can be ordered only in case of public disorder. The habituality of committing an offense should not be the sole reason for invoking preventive detention. The court pulled up the Telangana government for unnecessarily invoking preventive detention and warned it not to force the court to take further action. The Advisory Board, which approves preventive detention, should play an active role in determining whether the detention is justified under the law. The court quashed two preventive detention orders passed by the Telangana government. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to ensure that no person is mechanically or illegally sent to preventive detention. It functions as a safety valve between the detaining authority, the state, and the rights of the detenu. The Advisory Board should not just mechanically approve detention orders, but consider the mandate in Article 22(4) of the Indian Constitution.