Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 14: High Court has quashed the detention order passed under Public Safety Act (PSA) citing it is unwarranted and misconceived and illegal and directed release of detenue.
Detenue-Sumit Salathia challenged his PSA issued by District Magistrate Samba on various grounds. The counsel Asheesh Singh Kotwal appearing on behalf of the detenue-Salathia argued that the PSA under challenge has been passed on the ground of registration of various FIRs against the detenue and the fact of the matter is that out of five FIRs referred in the dossier as well as in the grounds of detention, two FIRs were disposed of as the offences alleged against the petitioner-detenue were compounded by the concerned court and leaving only three FIRs in reckoning in which the alleged commission of offences under Section 341/323/147/148 Ranbir Penal Code which would generate no scope for any proceedings against the petitioner under the PSA , 1978 for the sake of depriving him of his personal liberty.
Justice Rahul Bharti while quashing the PSA under challenge recorded that the preventive detention jurisdiction is very fact sensitive and attentive which admits of no compromise at any given point of time, be it at the end of sponsoring authority seeking preventive detention of a person or detention order making authority granting preventive detention of a given person.
Justice Bharti said the FIRs against the detenue forming the basis for his detention, then out of the five FIRs, three FIRs i.e. FIR No. 201/2014, FIR No. 14/2015 & FIR No. 32/2017 are so distant in point of time for any District Magistrate to draw an inference there-from that the petitioner is a live nuisance to be prejudicial to the maintenance of public order, more particularly, when outcome of the criminal cases in relation to the said three FIRs have not been disclosed by the police to the detaining authority-District Magistrate, Samba.
“In view of the facts and circumstances of the case, the preventive detention of the petitioner is held to be unwarranted and misconceived and illegal. Accordingly, the preventive detention Order No. 18/PSA of 2024 dated 08.05.2024 passed by the District Magistrate, Samba read with consequent approval and confirmation order passed by the Govt. of UT of Jammu & Kashmir are set aside and the petitioner is directed to be restored to his personal liberty”, court concluded.
The court directed the District Magistrate, Samba as well as the Superintendent of the concerned Jail to ensure release of the petitioner-Salathia from the preventive custody unless and until the petitioner’s custody is warranted in some other case be it pending trial or investigation.
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