SRINAGAR: The High Court has quashed four detention orders issued under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and directed the immediate release of the detainees, reports appearing in the media said.
Justice Sanjay Dhar set aside the PSA orders against Tawseef Ahmad Parray, Jahangir Ahmad Malik, Tawseef Ahmad Sheikh, and Mohammad Ishaq Tantray, who had been detained by the district magistrates of Baramulla, Shopian, Kulgam, and Anantnag, respectively. They had been held for allegedly engaging in activities prejudicial to the state’s security.
In his ruling, Justice Dhar found that the claims made by Parray, Malik, and Sheikh—that they had not been provided with all the material relied upon by the detaining authorities—were well-founded. He observed that this amounted to a violation of essential safeguards against the arbitrary use of preventive detention laws, rendering their detention orders legally unsustainable.
In Tantray’s case, the court noted that while he had submitted a representation against his detention, he was never informed of the outcome. The records showed that the Home Department had communicated the rejection of his representation to the detaining authority on June 10, 2024, but there was no evidence to suggest that the decision was conveyed to Tantray himself. The court held that the government’s failure to inform him promptly was sufficient grounds to invalidate the detention order.
“The petitions are allowed, and the impugned orders of detention are quashed. The detainees are directed to be released from preventive custody forthwith, provided they are not required in connection with any other case,” the court ordered.
