Srinagar: Observing that the illicit traffic of narcotics and psychotropic substances poses threat to the health and welfare of every citizen in the world, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Wednesday dismissed a plea by a Punjab resident challenging his detention under PITNDPS.
On December 27, 2022, the authorities had detained Happy Singh of Mehtabgarh, Kapurthala, Punj under the PITNDPS and he had challenged the same before the court.
“The court should be conscious that the satisfaction of the detaining authority is subjective in nature and the Court cannot substitute its opinion for the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority and interfere with the order of detention,” a bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal said.
“It does not mean that the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority is immune from judicial reviewability. By various decisions, the Supreme Court has carved out areas within which the validity of subjective satisfaction can be tested,” it said.
In the present case, the court said, the detainee was involved in trafficking huge packages of heroin and was also caught in possession of the same.
“The detaining authority recorded finding that this has a serious impact on the economy of the nation and is also satisfied that the detainee has propensity to indulge in the same act of smuggling and passed the order of preventive detention, which is a preventive measure,” the court said. “Based on the documents and the materials placed before the detaining authority and considering the individual role of the detainee, the detaining authority satisfied itself as to the detainee continued propensity and his inclination to indulge in acts of prejudicial activities of illicit traffic of narcotics and psychotropic substances which poses threat to the health and welfare not only to the citizens of this country but to every citizen in the world.”
The court noted that the offences committed by the detainee are so interlinked and continues in character and are of such nature that these affect security and health of the nation.
