Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 2: High Court upheld the judgment of writ court whereby the detention of Over Ground Worker (OGW) under Public Safety Act was upheld as the court was apprised that the activity of the detenue are prejudicial for the security of the state.
Bashir Ahmad Wani was detained by the District Magistrate Kupwara in September 2020 on account of his activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of the security of the State. Challenging the order of detention, the writ court dismissed his petition and upheld his detention.
Aggrieved by the judgment of a single judge, he preferred an appeal which was heard and considered by the division bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani.
The division bench rejected the arguments of Wani’s counsel that the detaining authority did not prepare the grounds of detention itself, as the same were a replica of the police dossier.
“This contention of Advocate Sofi, as well, is insignificant and irrelevant in view of categoric finding recorded by the writ court based upon the examination of the detention record produced by the counsel for the respondents. For all what has been observed, discussed and considered the instant appeal fails and is, accordingly dismissed”, DB concluded.
The District Magistrate Kupwara opposed and resisted the petition of the appellant-Wani by filing a counter affidavit stating that he had followed all the constitutional and statutory safeguards while passing order of detention against the appellant herein.
It was stated in the counter affidavit that the detenue had remained active in anti-national activities being an OGW of a militant organization, Lashkar-e-Toiba, as such, the detaining authority, with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State, passed the order of detention and furnished entire material which formed basis of the said order of detention to the detenue including the grounds of detention and that the detaining authority applied its mind while passing the said order of detention.
The DB on examination of the detention record produced by the Government counsel, said that it manifestly demonstrates that the detenue had furnished the copies of order of detention, notice and grounds of detention against a proper receipt including the relevant material relied upon by the detaining authority. “The contention of advocate Sofi thus, is found to be factually incorrect, as such, the observation made and finding recorded in this regard by the writ court does not call for any interference,” reads the judgment.
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