During Emergency, DMK members were detained on vague grounds ‘against the spirit’ of MISA provisions: Shah Commission

The Shah Commission of Inquiry, set up by the Union Government to probe excesses committed across India during the Emergency (June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977), found the DMK a striking victim of the abuse of Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in Tamil Nadu after the M. Karunanidhi Government was dismissed on January 31, 1976, and President’s Rule was imposed.

In its third and final report, the Commission headed by Justice J.C. Shah, retired Chief Justice of India, said: “From the above, it would appear that even though there were no specific instructions in writing from the State Government, the District authorities went about using MISA extensively against the members of DMK in particular and others allegedly having associations with this party, simply by furnishing vague and general grounds in a stereotyped manner. This was clearly against the spirit of the provisions of the MISA.”