The High Court has quashed detention of two persons from South Kashmir’s Pulwama district who were booked under Public Safety Act last year.
A bench of Justice Puneet Gupata quashed the detention orders issued against Aijaz Ahmad Sheikh and Waqar Younis Sheikh of Pulwama after observing that the substantive right of the detainees to have necessary material has been violated. “The same being sufficient ground for quashing of detention order, the court need not go into other aspects of the case,” the bench said.
While disposing of the two separate petitions, the court directed the authorities concerned to release the duo from the preventive custody forthwith “if not otherwise required in any other case.”
“The power of preventive detention is qualitatively different from punitive detention. The power of preventive detention is a precautionary power exercised in reasonable anticipation. It may or may not relate to an offence. It is not a parallel proceeding,” the court said while referring to a Supreme Court judgment.