SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh ruled on Tuesday to revoke the detention of two individuals held under the Public Safety Act (PSA), directing authorities to release them from custody.
In separate judgments, the court criticized the vague nature of the detention orders issued by two different district magistrates.
Justice Rajesh Sekhri, in a single bench decision, invalidated the detention of Tariq Ahmad Napa, detained by the District Magistrate of Baramulla on September 15, 2022.
The court cited the vagueness of the allegations and declared the detention order legally unsustainable. It instructed authorities to release Napa from custody unless he was needed in any other case.
In another case, a bench led by Justice MA Chowdhary annulled the detention order against Suhail Ahmad Shah from Shah Mohalla Panzinara, Srinagar. The District Magistrate of Srinagar had issued the detention order on June 27, 2022.
The court criticized the detaining authority for neglecting constitutional and statutory safeguards by failing to provide the detainee with all the material on which the detention order was based.
This, the court argued, deprived the detainee of the opportunity to make a meaningful representation.
Describing the detention order as based on vague grounds and indicative of a lack of proper consideration, the court directed authorities to release the detainee. It emphasized that such actions curtailed the fundamental right to liberty.
The rulings highlight the judiciary’s commitment to upholding constitutional rights and ensuring adherence to legal procedures in matters of detention under the PSA.
