HC upholds PSA of man involved in lynching of DSP

Excelsior Correspondent

Srinagar, Sept 1: High Court today upheld a detention order of a man for allegedly lynching a police officer and quashed two with the direction to the authorities to release them.

The court upheld the PSA of one Bilal Ahmad Lone. Lone was detained by District Magistrate Srinagar on 11. 10. 2024 in order to prevent him from indulging in the activities which are prejudicial to the security of the State.

The grounds of detention reveal that Lone was actively involved in the gruesome lynching of a Dy. SP rank officer who was deployed to ensure peaceful culmination of huge gathering of devotees at Jamia Masjid on the eve of Shab-i-Qadr on the intervening night of 22-23/06/2017.

It has been contended that the detenue had been indulging in the activities which are highly prejudicial to the security of the State.

"For the foregoing reasons, I do not find any ground to interfere with the impugned order of detention. The petition lacks merit and is dismissed accordingly", the court said.

Justice Rahul Bharti has quashed the PSA of detenue-Altaf Ahmad Dar of District Srinagar. The court on examination of preventive detention of Dar said it is resting purely on vague grounds, "this Court cannot escape from agreeing with said challenge".

The District Magistrate, Srinagar, court said, is in no better position than the blank position of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Srinagar in the manner that it did not tax the District Magistrate, to seek input from the end of Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar about the final outcome of FIR against the detenue.

Justice Sanjay Dhar quashed the PSA of detenue-Ab. Qudoos Rather. Rather was detained by the District Magistrate Kupwara on 29.04.2025.

The court quashed his PSA by recording that the details of alleged subversive activities and the particulars of the period when the detenue again allegedly indulged therein are also not given in the grounds of detention.