Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 4: In a strong affirmation of constitutional safeguards, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed three separate detention orders passed under the Public Safety Act (PSA), underscoring that personal liberty cannot be curtailed on the basis of casual, stale, or mechanically prepared grounds.
Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi allowed the petition of Imtiyaz Ahmad Ganie of Chee, Anantnag, who had been detained under order No.13/DMA/PSA/DET/2024 dated April 20, 2024.
While examining the detention records, the court found that authorities had confused Ganie with another individual of a similar name and passed the detention on mistaken identity. The judgment held that such a lapse reflected complete non-application of mind, collapsing the very foundation of the order. The detenue was directed to be released forthwith.
In another case, the same bench set aside detention order No.34/DMP/PSA/24 dated September 9, 2024 against Showkat Ahmad Dar of Dogripora, Pulwama, who had been arrested in FIR No. 46/2021
The court observed that reviving a three-year-old FIR from 2021 to justify preventive detention in 2024 was legally untenable, as it failed to establish the “live and proximate link” required under preventive detention jurisprudence. Relying on Supreme Court rulings, Justice Kazmi held that stale material cannot be the basis of PSA detention and ordered Dar’s immediate release.
Meanwhile, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal dismissed the UT Government’s appeal in Mohammad Ismail Thoker’s case from Shopian.
Thoker had been detained under order No.174/DMS/ PSA/2023 dated September 27, 2023, which the writ court had earlier quashed on two counts—failure to communicate rejection of his representation, and non-supply of the detention dossier.
Upholding the Single Judge’s ruling, the Division Bench ruled that denial of full documents and failure to convey decisions fatally undermined the detention. The appeal was dismissed, and the detainee’s release confirmed.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
