HC strikes down detention of J-K resident under PSA

In a significant ruling, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed the detention of Mohammad Jaffer Sheikh, a resident of Kishtwar, who was booked under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978.

Justice M A Chowdhary, while delivering the judgment, set aside the detention order which had been issued “to prevent the detinue from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State.”

Advertisement

The court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Sheikh, represented by Advocates SS Ahmed and Rahul Raina. Government Advocate Eishaan Dadhichi appeared for the Union Territory administration.

The District Magistrate, Kishtwar, had based the detention order on Sheikh’s alleged involvement in three FIRs and four Daily Diary Reports (DDRs). However, the court observed that the DDRs had not culminated in any criminal proceedings and could not justify preventive detention.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that Sheikh had not been informed of his right to make a representation within a stipulated time, and that the detention relied on stale cases dating back to 1997, 2015 and 2019, which bore no proximate link to present circumstances. They further contended that crucial documents forming the basis of detention were not supplied or explained to him in a language he understood.

Justice Chowdhary noted serious lapses in the handling of Sheikh’s representation. Although the Additional District Magistrate, Kishtwar, had forwarded it to the Principal Secretary, Home Department, the record remained silent on its disposal or communication to the petitioner. This, the court held, vitiated the detention order.

Referring to several Supreme Court judgments, Justice Chowdhary underscored that personal liberty is “one of the most cherished freedoms” under the Constitution. He stressed that Article 22 was designed by the framers to limit the State’s power of preventive detention and to “humanize the harsh authority over individual liberty.”

Allowing the petition, the court quashed the detention order passed by the District Magistrate, Kishtwar, and directed that Sheikh be released forthwith, unless required in connection with any other case.