Srinagar: The J&K High Court on Saturday quashed the PSA detention of an alleged over ground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen. The court said that the detenue was already in police custody when the detention order was slapped, which is against the tenets of law.
The division bench of Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Sanjeev Kumar while setting aside the single bench order that upheld the detention of Nisar Ahmad Qazi of Pulwama, recorded that after perusing the relevant record and hearing the counsels at length, the view taken by the Writ Court was not correct in the eye of law.
“Admittedly, on the date the detention of the detenue was ordered, the detenue was already in jail and was involved in as many as four FIRs registered in the year 2018,” the court said.
The bench observed that it is not also disputed that the detenue had not applied for bail nor was there any likelihood of the bail being granted.
“The detaining authority has though shown its awareness that the detenue is under custody of the State in connection with the commission of substantive offences yet decided to place the detenue under preventive detention by invoking powers under Section 8(a) of the J&K Public Safety Act, 1978. It was thus incumbent upon the detaining authority to disclose the compelling reasons for resorting to such action,” the court recorded.
The bench pointed out that if the idea of issuing the detention order was to prevent the detenue from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State, that objective stood already achieved with the arrest of detenue in connection with commission of substantive offences for which four different FIRs were registered in the year 2018.
“In these circumstances, the detaining authority could not have absolved itself of the responsibility to, at least, indicate the compelling circumstances for taking such decision. In that view of the matter, the detention of the detenue, when he was already in police custody, cannot be said to have been made because of any undisclosed compelling reasons and, therefore, cannot be justified in view of the law laid down,” the court said.
While giving reference to Supreme Court directives, the bench said, “We accept this appeal and set aside the order of the Writ Court and quash the impugned detention order. As a consequence thereof, respondents are directed to release the detenue forthwith from preventive custody, if not required in connection with any other case,” the court directed.

NUSRAT SIDIQ