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| HC quashes detention order under PSA | | Respondent failed to explain 70 days delay in execution of order | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Mar 5
Justice JP Singh of J&K High Court Jammu Wing today in a significant judgment quashed detention order of one Assadullah s/o Mohd Sharief who was detained by the order of District Magistrates Jammu passed in the month of June, 2007 and was executed after more than 70 days.
As per the contention of the state counsel that detenue while attending public rally of All Party Hurriyat Conference of separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at Shidhi Chowk Jammu, the petitioner had made pro-freedom and anti-India slogans asking the youth to fight for total independence of the state of J&K and in that view of the matter, his detention would not warrant any interference. On the other hand Adv Sunil Sethi appearing for the detenue submitted that District Magistrate Jammu passed detention order under PSA on June 30, 2007, despite registration of Fir u/Ss 147/124-A, on the basis he had been ordered to be detained in preventive custody, no efforts had been made by the police to question him in connection with FIR or to arrest him there under although he had all along been available at his residence. The denying the involvement of the detenue in FIR NO 1/2007, stated that detention order issued by the DM Jammu had remained unexecuted for more than 70 days and in view of the explained delay in execution of detention warrant, the detention was illegal.
Justice JP Singh after hearing both sides and also gone through the record of the case observed that omission of the respondents to explain the delay in execution of the detention warrant for over a period of 70 days when the petitioner is stated to have all along been available at his place, goes to very route of the matter demonstrating the manner in which the respondents had exercised power under the PSA. Court referred the various judgments of Apex Court of India and further observed that in the absence of any stand taken by the respondents regarding their having made serious efforts to execute the order and apprehend the petitioner, the detention of the petitioner cannot be justified for unreasonable and unexplained delay in executing the detention order creates a serious doubt about the genuineness of the power exercised by the detaining authority for immediate detention of the person sought to be kept in preventive custody, in order to prevent in from carryon his alleged activities pre-judicial to security of the state. Non execution of the detention warrant, without any plausible explanation for its non-execution snaps the live and proximate link between the grounds of the detention and purpose of detention. With these observations court quashed the detention order passed by the DM Jammu with the direction to respondents to set the petitioner to liberty forthwith if not required in any other case. JNF |
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