Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Nov 18: The Division Bench of the High Court today upheld the Public Safety Act (PSA) slapped on a drug peddler citing that the liberty and freedom is not meant to be abused or misused by a person by indulging in illegal and illicit activities.
The Division Bench of Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice Mohan Lal has upheld the writ court verdict whereby the PSA on a chronic drug peddler-Mushtaq Khan was held to be legal and valid.
Challenging the writ court verdict in an appeal before the division bench by the accused-Khan on the ground that the provisions of the PSA and the constitutional safeguards were not followed by the authorities while issuing the order of detention and the Single Judge too wrongly dismissed the writ petition filed by him challenging his detention order dated 20.04.2023.
The DB while holding the writ court judgment and PSA slapped on accused-Khan as valid said the Constitution undoubtedly guarantees various freedoms and personal liberty to all persons in our Republic.
“However, it should be kept in mind by one and all that the constitutional guarantee of such freedoms and liberty is not meant to be abused and misused so as to endanger and threaten the very foundation of the pattern of our free society in which the guaranteed democratic freedom and personal liberty is designed to grow and flourish,” the DB judgement reads.
“The larger interests of our multi-religious nation as a whole and the cause of preserving and securing to every person the guaranteed freedom peremptorily demand reasonable restrictions on the prejudicial activities of individuals which undoubtedly jeopardize the rightful freedoms of the rest of the society”, reads the judgment.
Court has clarified that the main object of Preventive Detention is security of the State, maintenance of public order or preventive illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and combating abuse of such drugs and substances which poses threat to the health and welfare of people or have deleterious effect on the national economy, effective safeguards in the larger interest of sustenance of peaceful democratic way of life.
Court said the FIRs lodged against the appellant-Khan show that he was repeatedly indulging in illicit traffic of narcotics drugs and there were compelling circumstances for the detaining authority to pass the detention order against him in order to prevent him from repeating similar activities, as launching of prosecution against him for substantive offences, did not deter him from indulging in similar activities.
“For the reasons discussed above, we do not find any merit in the appeal and the same is, accordingly, dismissed along with connected application”, DB concluded.
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