Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 18: The High Court today quashed five detention orders under Public Safety Act and directed the authorities to release all the detenues from the preventive custody.
Justice Rajnesh Oswal while hearing the petition of detenue-Asif Ahmad Malik challenging therein the detention order passed by District Magistrate Kupwara said the order and relevant material has not been supplied to the detenu so as to enable him to make effective representation before the detaining authority against his detention.
Court said failure on part of the detaining authority to supply material relied upon by him, while passing the detention order renders it illegal. “Since the order of detention is required to be quashed on this ground only, so there is no need to consider other grounds of challenge”, Justice Oswal recorded in the judgment.
In case of detenu- Farooq Ahmad Malik court said, the petitioner-Malik was already in custody and this fact was well known to detaining authority (District Magistrate Kupwara) and despite that the detention order was executed after more than three months of issuance of the order which is clearly in violation of Article 22(5) of Constitution and Public Safety Act. “…Detention order is quashed and petitioner be set free from the preventive custody”, Court directed.
In the case of detenu-Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, court said, the relevant material has not been supplied to the detenu by the District Magistrate Pulwama to make an effective representation before the authority. “In this view, the petition is allowed and the detention order is quashed”, court directed.
In case of detenu-Khalid Hussain, court said, the detention order passed by DM Kupwara was executed about 5 months later after its passing and nothing is on record that the authority made any attempt to execute the detention order in between that period and this is deliberate delay in execution on part of the authority concerned.
Court on this score quashed the impugned detention and directed the authorities to set the detenu free from preventive custody.
In the case of detenu-Saboor-ul-Haq Malla, the Division Bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice V C Koul while hearing an appeal against the single judge judgment whereby the detention order of Haq was upheld, DB said the single Judge has failed to consider the issues raised by the detenu and the judgment is contrary to the well settled principles of law on the subject.
The DB held the judgment is not sustainable in law and accordingly set aside the same and further quashed the detention order passed by DM Shopian by holding the same is contrary to law and directed the detenu-Haq be released forthwith, if he is not required in any other case.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel