Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 20: The High Court has quashed three detention orders passed under Public Safety Act (PSA) and directed the authorities to release them.
Justice Sindhu Sharma, Justice Sanjay Dhar and Justice M A Chowdhary while dealing with separate petition challenging therein orders of detention passed by the concerned authorities, quashed all the three PSAs with the direction to the authorities to release the detenues from the preventive custody.
Justice Sharma quashed the PSA of detenue Basit Ahmad Laway. He was detained by District Magistrate Kulgam on 25.06.2022. The order of detention has been assailed by the detenu on the ground that he was already in custody when the detention order was passed and there is no compelling reason provided justifying his detention.
“The detention order for the aforementioned reasons is unsustainable as the representation, which has been filed by the detenu and has been placed on record along with receipt, has not been considered by the Detaining Authority within the statutory time period”, Court said.
Justice Dhar quashed the PSA of detenue Ashiq Hussain Bhat. He was detained by District Magistrate Srinagar on 07.04.2022. Court on perusal of record said the grounds of detention comprise only of two leaves and is not understandable as to how three leaves comprising the grounds of detention have been provided to the detenue.
“Thus, the contention of the petitioner that he has not been provided with the whole of the material appears to be well founded. Thus, the impugned order of detention is rendered unsustainable in law on this ground alone”, Court said.
Justice Chowdhary quashed the PSA of detenue-Tariq Ahmad Wagay of district Kulgam. He was detained by the orders of Divisional Commissioner Kashmir vide order dated 23.12.2022. Court said the detention order was passed by the detaining authority on 23.12.2022. However, the same was executed on 15.05.2023, after an inordinate delay of more than five months, without any difficulty faced in execution thereof.
“Resort to preventive detention has to be taken only in cases where there is an urgent need to detain a person so as to prevent him from indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the maintenance of public order or security of the State. When there is unsatisfactory and unexplained delay in executing the order of detention, such delay would throw considerable doubt on the genuineness of the subjective satisfaction recorded by the detaining authority”, Justice Chowdhary recorded.
Court allowed all three petitions and quashed the orders of detention with the directions to the authorities to release all the three detenues from custody, if they are not required in any other case.
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