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| HC slams PSA misuse, quashes five detentions | | | Early Times Report
Jammu/Srinagar, Aug 30: In a sweeping rebuke to arbitrary preventive detentions, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed five separate orders passed under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT NDPS), holding that personal liberty cannot be sacrificed on vague, stale, or mechanically drafted grounds.
Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi set aside detention order No. 20/DMP/PSA/24 against Shabir Ahmad Pandit of Karimabad, Pulwama, who had been accused of working as an OGW for LeT. The Court observed that no FIR was lodged against him, and the order was passed solely on the police dossier without application of mind, in violation of Article 22(5) of the Constitution.
In another ruling, the Court quashed detention order dated 19.12.2024 against 26-year-old law student Zubair Ramzan Ganie of Seer Hamdan, Anantnag. Booked earlier under the NDPS Act, he was released on bail. The Court held that preventive detention could not be used to nullify bail, especially in absence of fresh evidence or ongoing criminal activity.
Justice M.A. Chowdhary struck down detention of Mohd. Nazir of Thanamandi, Rajouri, who was accused of bovine smuggling. The Court highlighted over 13 months of unexplained delay in executing the order, and the fact that it was not approved by the Government as required under Section 8(4) of the PSA. The Court ruled that mere allegations of bovine smuggling cannot justify preventive detention.
In HCP No. 42/2025, the Court quashed the detention of Gami Din of Billawar, Kathua, holding that the grounds of detention were a verbatim reproduction of the police dossier. The detenue was not informed of his right to file representation within a specified timeframe, and vague DDRs were used instead of valid FIRs, rendering the detention unconstitutional.
In another scathing order, Justice Chowdhary quashed the detention of Mohd. Abdullah alias Dullah of Kishtwar, whose 2024 detention order relied on FIRs dating back to 2003–2007, in which he had already been acquitted. The Court ruled that once a detention order is quashed by court, old cases cannot be recycled for fresh detention, branding the action as arbitrary and mechanical. (JNF) |
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