Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 24: High Court has upheld the detention order of an Over Ground Worker (OGW) and quashed three with the direction to the authorities to release the trio from preventive custody.
Justice Puneet Gupta was hearing three separate petitions filed by Sartaj Ahmad Naik of Mantribugh Shopian, Irfan Ahmad Kuttay of Chattipora Shopian and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Lone of Androosa Khrew Pampore District Pulwama challenging their detention order passed by District Magistrates of Shopian and Pulwama on various grounds.
Justice Gupta in detenue-Naik’s case said the record reveals that the dossier provided by the SSP Shopian and the grounds of detention (styled as dossier with the detention order) are in fact on the same lines and there appears to be prima facie no independent satisfaction recorded by the District Magistrate while passing the detention order.
“For all practical purposes the grounds of detention are reproduction of the dossier provided by the police to the District Magistrate. Apparently, the manner in which the grounds of detention have been formulated by the detaining authority does not make out any independent subjective satisfaction recorded by the District Magistrate in the present petition”, court recorded.
“One of the requirements for deriving subjective satisfaction is to formulate the grounds of detention having basis for passing the order of detention. In the order impugned, as passed by District Magistrate, the Magistrate has just recorded what has been forwarded by the Superintendent of Police and nothing more which shows that Detaining Authority has not sifted the material dossier while stating grounds of detention”, Court said in detenu-Kuttay’s case.
Court observed that invasion of personal liberty is not permissible when no cogent reason is forthcoming. The incidents related prior to passing of earlier order and in the second order of detention are for all intents and purposes no different. The fresh grounds supposedly forming opinions of detaining authorities for passing order are just an alibi for detaining the petitioner and that cannot be sustained in law.
Dealing with plea of detenue-Lone, Justice Gupta said the Court is also in agreement with the contention of the counsel for the petitioner-Lone that the vague grounds in the detention order deprived him of making statutory representation before the Advisory Board and the Government, which the court said is statutory right and fundamental in character of which the detenue has been deprived of due to ambiguous and vague nature of allegations leveled in the detention order.
With these views the court said the detention order of all the three detenues is not sustainable in the eyes of law as such quashed the same with the direction to authorities to release all the three from preventive custody.
The court upheld the PSA of detenue-Mohamad Amin Wagay of Rajpora District Pulwama. He was detained on 19.04.2023 under the preventive detention under provisions of Public Safety Act, 1978 with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State and has been lodged in Central Jail Kot Bhalwal, Jammu.
“The petitioner is stated to influence the gullible minds of youngsters and is a conduit of JeM & TRF banned terrorist organizations and is also involved in undesirable activities and was booked under Section 107/151 Cr.P.C. The court is satisfied that the activities of the petitioner are prejudicial to the security of the State as mentioned in the impugned order”, Justice Gupta said.
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