SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ruled in favor of a man, Ali Mohammad Lone, also known as Advocate Zahid Ali, who was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA), the Indian Express reported.
The court quashed his detention and ordered compensation for the “illegal detention.” This marks the first instance where the court has penalized the state for detaining someone under the PSA, which allows detention without trial for up to two years.
In the judgment pronounced by Justice Rahul Bharti on April 3 and uploaded recently, the court deemed the detention as “mala fide and illegal,” lasting for over 1,080 days across four detention orders from 2019 to March 2024. Ali Mohammad Lone had been detained multiple times under the PSA, with each detention subsequently quashed by the court.
The court directed the state to pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation to Ali Mohammad Lone, although he had initially sought Rs 25 lakh.
The judgment criticized the Senior Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate of Pulwama for not considering the previous orders quashing the PSA before issuing the fourth detention order.
The court highlighted that the fourth detention seemed preconceived, as both the dossier and detention order were dated the same day, indicating a predetermined intent to keep Ali Mohammad Lone detained regardless of the lack of conviction in a criminal case.
