Srinagar, June 28: The High Court (HC) Monday ordered immediate release of three detainees while quashing their detentions under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Allowing three separate habeas corpus petitions, a bench of Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey directed the government to release forthwith from preventive custody AssadullahBhat of Dadsara, Pulwama present residing at Chattabal Srinagar, Majid Ahmad Bhat of KarimabadPulwama and Javaid Ahmad Bhat of KhanuBabagund, Kupwara.
While Assadullah was detained in terms of an order dated 2nd November 2020 passed by the District Magistrate Pulwama, Majid was booked by virtue of an order of the magistrate on November 9 last year.
Javaid was taken into preventive custody following an order by the District Magistrate Kupwara on 19th October 2019.
While quashing the detention order of Assadullah, the court pointed out that so far as non-communication of the grounds of detention was concerned, perusal of file revealed that there was nothing to show or suggest that the grounds of detention couched in English language were explained to the detainee in a language understood by him.
The court cited a Supreme Court judgment delivered in a case titled LallubhaiJogibhai Patel versus the Union of India, 1981, wherein the apex court had underscored that the whole purpose of communicating the “grounds” to the detainee was to enable him to make a purposeful and effective representation.
“If the ‘grounds’ are only verbally explained to the detainee and nothing in writing is left with him in a language which he understands, then that purpose is not served, and the constitutional mandate in Article 22 (5) is infringed,” the SC has said.
The court observed that in keeping with the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the detention order was vitiated as “not amounting to effect communication of grounds and resultant deprivation of the right to make representation against the same”.
The court said that the other grounds were therefore needed to be separately addressed.
The court quashed the detention order and asked its Registrar Judicial to send a copy of this order to the Director General of Prisons and also the concerned jail authorities for compliance.