HC quashes PSA detention of Bar Association Secretary

Grounds of detention vague, invasion of constitutional rights: Judge

HC quashes PSA detention of Bar Association Secretary

SRINAGAR: The J&K High Court on Monday quashed the Public Safety Act (PSA) detention slapped on Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA) Mohammad Ashraf Bhat. The court ruled that the grounds of Bhat’s detention were vague and ambiguous and did not refer to any date, month or year of the activities which have been attributed to Bhat in the detention order.
Justice Tashi Rabstan while overturning the detention order passed by District Magistrate Srinagar on September 26, 2019, held that detention in preventive custody on the basis of such vague and ambiguous grounds of detention cannot be justified.
The judge said, “Even if one of the grounds or reasons which led to the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority is non-existent or misconceived or irrelevant, the order of detention would be invalid.”
Bhat’s counsel ZA Qureshi had earlier submitted before the court that the Bar Association Secretary was arrested on vague grounds. He informed that on September 13, Bhat was arrested from his home in Rawalpora without any justification and subsequently put under preventive detention.
Justice Tashi Rabstan while striking down the PSA detention order said, “The inclusion of an irrelevant and obscure ground is an infringement of the rights of the detenue and thus an invasion of the constitutional rights which entitles a detainee to approach the court for relief.”
The court on this basis asked the government to immediately release the Bar Secretary from Central Jail, Srinagar, provided he was not required to be detained in any other case.
Judge Tashi Rabstan also quashed on Monday the detentions of Bilal Ahmad Bhat of Pulwama and Mudasir Ahmad Wani of Bandipora after finding that the detaining authority had failed to apply its mind while passing the detention orders.
It is pertinent to mention that in the year 2019, 601 persons were detained under Public Safety Act, with 367 of them detained after the August 5 lockdown in Kashmir.

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