The High Court has quashed detention of a man from central Kashmir’s Budgam district who was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in April last year.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar quashed the detention of Aijaz Ahmad Dar of Nasrullapora Budgam and directed the government to release him from preventive custody forthwith provided he was not required in any other case.
In his plea, Dhar had challenged the detention order dated 9the April 2020 issued by the District Magistrate Budgam against him.
The petitioner’s contention was that without any justification he was implicated in a case under FIR No 53/2020 and he was shifted to preventive custody in terms of the detention order issued against him.
He submitted that the authorities concerned violated the procedural safeguards as he was not informed about his right to make a representation against the detention order before the detaining authority.
The petitioner contended that he had not furnished the material relied upon by the detaining authority in passing the detention order and was deprived of his constitutional and statutory rights.
“It can safely be stated that the respondents by not informing the petitioner about his right to make a representation to the detaining authority against the impugned order of detention, are guilty of committing infraction of a constitutional right guaranteed to the petitioner under Article 22(5) of the constitution and the statutory right guaranteed to him under Section 13 of the J&K Public Safety Act,” the court said.
The court held that the detention order was as such rendered invalid and unsustainable in the eyes of law and quashed it.