Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 26: The non-compliance of procedural safeguards after passing of detention order has prompted the High Court to quash the PSA passed against an Over Ground Worker OGW of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) militant outfit with the direction to release him from preventive custody.
Justice Rahul Bharti has quashed the PSA of one Danish Ahmad Shah of Aloosa Bandipora on the ground that his representation against the PSA has been kept unattended by the authorities of Home Department.
“Accordingly, bearing in mind the facts and circumstances, the preventive detention of the petitioner is held to be illegal. Preventive detention order No. 09/DMB/PSA of 2023 dated 20.07.2023 of the District Magistrate, Bandipora read with approval/confirmation/extension orders passed by the respondent-Home Department are held to be illegal, and, accordingly, quashed”, Justice Bharti concluded.
The court has held that if the preventive detention of the petitioner-Shah is held to be valid still the later procedural non-compliance on the part of the respondent-authorities has a vitiating effect rendering preventive detention of the petitioner unsustainable and that vitiating factor is that the written representation dated 23.08.2023 submitted by the petitioner to the respondent Principal Secretary to Govt., Home Department has remained unattended and un-responded.
The court further directed the Superintendent of the concerned jail having the custody of the petitioner-Shah pursuant to the preventive detention slapped upon him to immediately release him from confinement and custody of the jail.
“Right to make a representation is a constitutional right vested in a detenue who is subjected to preventive detention custody. This right to make representation is too sacrosanct to be dealt with casually and evasively except at the risk of rendering the preventive detention vitiated with illegality”, read the judgment.
The petitioner-Shah was alleged to have provided logistic support in carrying recent terrorist attacks at Sub-Division Bandipora working on the direction of LeT handlers, namely, Samama alias Ali and Hilal Ahmad Malik and was detained under PSA by the District Magistrate Bandipora after recommendations of the Home Department.
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