SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has set aside the preventive detention of advocate Mian Muzaffar, who was detained in July 2024, under the Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978. Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, presiding over the case, ruled that the detention order was based on “vague” and “insufficient grounds”, failing to meet the statutory requirements.
Muzaffar was accused of propagating secessionist ideologies, allegedly influenced by his uncle, Mian Abdul Qayoom, a senior lawyer and former president of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association. The court found these allegations unsubstantiated, noting that the detention order relied on flimsy grounds, including vague claims about organising seminars with separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik.
Highlighting the flaws in the detention order, the court pointed out that Geelani passed away in 2019, and Yasin Malik has been imprisoned since 2020, making it chronologically impossible for Muzaffar to have organised any recent events with them.
In the judgment, Justice Kazmi emphasised the principles of judicial review in preventive detention cases, stressing the importance of demonstrating a “live and proximate link” between past conduct and the necessity for detention. The judge criticised the detaining authority for failing to apply its mind, stating that the detention order was based on “material extraneous to the scope and purpose of the statute.”
The court also underscored the violation of Muzaffar’s constitutional rights, as the authorities had failed to provide him with the relevant material supporting the detention order, despite requests from his family. Citing Supreme Court precedents, the judgment noted that individuals must be given all pertinent facts to ensure their right to a fair representation.
“If the detenue is not informed about his right as enshrined in the Constitution, the opportunity granted by the Constitution itself becomes an exercise in futility,” the court stated.
Justice Kazmi concluded that the detention lacked sufficient cause and failed to justify the claims made by the Advisory Board. As a result, the High Court quashed the detention order and directed Muzaffar’s immediate release.
