Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 7: High Court quashed two detention orders including that of an advocate and ex-Bar Association General Secretary and directed their release.
Justice Rahul Bharti has quashed PSA of advocate Mohammad Ashraf Bhat and Rouf Ahmad Sheikh. Both were detained by virtue of a detention order passed by District Magistrates of Srinagar and Kulgam.
The dossier of police which solicited the slapping of PSA on detenue-Bhat reads that he is in the capacity of General Secretary of High Court Bar Association (HCBA) and has been instrumental in reviving HCBA and to provide a platform to secessionist and terrorists.
It was provided in adopted constitution of Kashmir High Court Bar Association to provide support to the terrorist movement till objective of secessionist of UT of J&K from Union of India is achieved and he is still continuing his activities for propagating the erstwhile adopted constitution of JKHCBA to support the terrorist movement to achieve unlawful desired object of secessionism under the influence of Advocate Abdul Qayoom, a staunch supporter of terrorist and secessionism.
In order to avail his right of representation against his preventive detention in an effective manner, the petitioner-Bhat , vide a handwritten application dated 1st of August, 2024 addressed to Principal Secretary to Government, Home Department, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, asked for personal hearing before the Advisory Board which remained un considered prompting him to challenged the PSA before the court through his wife.
The court while quashing PSA said there is nothing suggested in the counter affidavit by the respondent-District Magistrate, Srinagar as to why the petitioner-Bhat’s plea for seeking personal hearing before the Advisory Board was made to suffer waste in the process of official correspondence and, in the meanwhile, the Advisory Board was let to opine on the preventive detention of the petitioner without personal hearing accorded to the petitioner.
The court accordingly quashed his preventive detention and directed the petitioner to be restored, without loss of any time, to his personal liberty by his immediate release from the concerned Jail and to that effect the Superintendent of the concerned Jail detaining the petitioner to act in compliance of the directions hereby being issued with respect to the release of the petitioner from preventive detention custody.
The court has also set aside the preventive detention custody of the petitioner-Sheikh with the direction to District Magistrate, Kulgam to revive the proceedings set into effect under section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as reported in his report by the SHO Police Station Qaimoh before the Executive Magistrate concerned and to take the said proceedings to its logical conclusion on merits be it in calling upon the petitioner to furnish the security bond for keeping peace or to relieve him from said proceedings.
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