Srinagar: High Court of J&K and Ladakh has quashed detention of seven persons under Public Safety Act (PSA) including a man against whom authorities had invoked a 17-year-old case in which he had been even acquitted.
Various benches of the Court quashed the detentions while allowing the habeas corpus pleas of the detainees.
“Perusal of grounds of detention reveals that last activity, in which detenu allegedly indulged took place in the year 2004 and not only this, the detenu has been acquitted by the Court,” a bench of Justice M A Chowdhary said while quashing detention of Bashir Ahmed Koka of Dardpora chaklipora, Achabal Anantnag.
Underscoring that the detention of Koka had been ordered on the basis of FIR no 11/2004 registered in 2004, the court said the case, therefore, had no proximity of time with the detention order. The Court pointed out that the respondents (officials) had failed to explain the delay in passing the order of detention and therefore, on this ground alone the order was liable to be quashed.
“This important fact of the matter is missing in the grounds of detention and reliance on case-FIR No.11/2004 by detaining authority to arrive at subjective satisfaction, amounts to non-application of mind on the part of detaining authority,” court said, adding law in this regard is clear.
While the Court noted that the dossier had been submitted by Senior Superintendent of Police, Anantnag to recommend detention of the detenue on October 19, 2021 and detaining authority also passed the detention order on the same day, it said the same clearly suggests non-application of mind by the Detaining Authority.
Meanwhile, a bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar quashed detention of Sohaib Ahmad Malik of Gundpora Bandipora under PSA.
A bench of Justice Justice Javed Iqbal Wani quashed detention order, dated 20-10-2021, against Sajad Hussain Gull of Srinagar who was booked under PSA by virtue of an order passed by District Magistrate on October 10 last year.
A bench of Justice M.A.Chowdhary also quashed detention orders under PSA against Javeed Ahmad Haji Hanipora of Bulbul Nowgam Distgrict Anantnag, Bashir Ahmad Bhat of Nadihal Bandipora, Parvaiz Ahmad Khoja of Farkain Kupwara, and Sadam Hussain Mir of Mir Mohalla Brath Kallan,Sopore Baramulla.