Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 3: The High Court today quashed five detention orders under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and directed the authorities to release all of them from preventive custody.
Justice Sanjay Dhar has quashed PSAs of four detenues Ikhlaq Gulzar Thokar, Ajaz Ahmad Khan, Javaid Ahmad Kaloo and Tahir Shameem Lone. They were detained by the District Magistrates of Shopian, Ganderbal, Srinagar and Shopian on 28.6.2022, 25.6.2022, 08.6.2023 and 28.6.2022 respectively.
Justice Moksha Kazmi quashed the PSA of Mufeez Ahmad Zargar of Tral Pulwama. Zargar was detained by District Magistrate Pulwama on 25.6.2022. “Viewed thus, these petitions are allowed and the impugned orders of detention, issued by the District Magistrates are quashed. The detenues are directed to be released from the preventive custody forthwith provided they are not required in connection with any other case”, Court directed in all the five cases.
“The grounds of detention and the dossier, if in similar language, go on to show that there has been non-application of mind on the part of the Detaining Authority. The similarity of contents of grounds of detention and police dossier in the instant case clearly exhibits mechanical functioning of the detaining authority, thereby making the impugned order of detention unsustainable in law”, read one of the judgments.
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Court in Khan’s case said it appears that he has been subjected to preventive detention because of Shri Amarnathji Yatra that was to take place in the year 2022. Since the Yatra period is over long back, therefore, the reason for keeping the petitioner in preventive detention has vanished by now, thereby rendering the need for petitioner’s preventive detention unnecessary.
Justice Kazmi while quashing the PSA of Zargar said if the detenue is not supplied the material, on which the detention order is based; he will not be in a position to make an effective representation against his detention order. The failure on the part of the Detaining Authority to supply the material, relied upon by it at the time of making the detention order to the detenue, renders the detention order illegal and unsustainable.
The court quashed the PSA of Kaloo on the ground that vital safeguards against arbitrary use of law of preventive detention have been observed in breach by the respondents in his case rendering the impugned order of detention unsustainable in law.
“This shows that the detaining authority has not meticulously examined the record while passing the impugned order of detention which renders the same unsustainable in law as the detaining authority has not in the grounds of detention made reference to the fact that the petitioner-Lone had already been admitted to bail in FIR No.01/2021 by the Special Judge (Designated Court under NIA), Anantnag”, read the judgment.
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