Srinagar: Observing that “subjective satisfaction has become a causality”, the J&K and Ladakh High Court quashed detention of a man from Khrew area of Pulwama district, who was booked under Public Safety Act(PSA) in2020.
“I have perused the detention record supplied to me by the counsel for the respondents and I have no hesitation in holding that the grounds of detention are replica of the dossier with interchange of some words here and there, which exhibits total non-application of mind by the Detaining Authority and in the process, arriving at subjective satisfaction has become a causality,” a bench of Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal said while quashed detention order passed on 13 July 2020 by Deputy Commissioner Pulwama against one Sajad Ahmad Bhat of Mandakpal Khrew, Pampore.
It was incumbent on part of Detaining Authority, court said, to have applied its mind independently after going through all the material supplied to him should have arrived at a conclusion. “But in the present case, the detaining authority has passed the order in a casual manner as the grounds of detention are replica of the grounds mentioned in the dossier.”
The Court pointed out that While formulating the grounds of detention the Detaining Authority has to apply its own mind independently after arriving at a subjective satisfaction. “The Detaining Authority cannot simply reiterate whatever is written in the dossier,” it said.
The court said that the preventive detention cannot be used as an instrument to keep a person in perpetual custody without trial.
“The offences alleged to have been committed by the detenue were such as to attract punishment under the prevailing laws, but that had to be done under the prevalent laws and taking recourse to preventive detention laws in the present case was not warranted,” the court said, adding, “Detention cannot be made a substitute for ordinary law and absolve investigating authorities of their normal functions of investigating crimes, which detenue may have committed.”
Ultimately, the court ordered that the detenue Bhat be released from the preventive custody forthwith “provided he was not required in connection with any other case(s).”
