Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 14: High Court quashed four detention orders passed under Public Safety Act and directed the release of three accused persons.
Justice Sanjay Dhar quashed the PSAs of detenue Firdous Ahmad Bhat, Shoaib Maqbool Sheikh, Sajad Ahmad Soliha and Salik Khurshid Pandani. They were arrested by the District Magistrates of Srinagar and Baramulla vide orders dated 30.802022, 28.7.2022 and 03.10.2022 respectively citing to prevent them from indulging in the activities which are prejudicial to the security of the State.
Justice Dhar said the petitioner-Soliha has been hampered by non-supply of these vital documents in making an effective representation before the Advisory Board as such the vital safeguards against arbitrary use of law of preventive detention have been observed in breach by the respondent-detaining authority in this case rendering the impugned order of detention unsustainable in law.
In detenue Sheikh’s case, the court said the detention order was issued on 30.08.2022 but the same has been executed on 08.03.2023, i.e. after a period of about seven months and there is no explanation on the part of respondent-detaining authority regarding delay in execution of the impugned detention order as such the impugned order of detention has been rendered unsustainable in law.
Dealing with the case of detenue-Bhat, the court said the detention record produced by the respondents does not contain any document that could suggest that the detenue-Bhat has received either the grounds of detention or the material relied upon for formulating the grounds of detention. “Even along with their counter affidavit, the respondents have not annexed any document to show that the material has been supplied to the detenue”, read the judgment.
The court in detenue-Pandani’s case said that there is nothing on record to suggest as to what decision has been taken on the said representation nor the decision, if any made, seems to have been conveyed to the petitioner and the non-consideration or an unreasonably belated consideration of the representation indisputably amounts to violation of constitutional safeguards provided by the provisions of Article 22(5) of the Constitution, which in turn renders the detention unsustainable in law.
The court for these reasons allowed all the three and quashed the PSAs under challenge with the directions to the authorities to release the trio from the preventive custody.
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