HC Quashes 2 PSA Detention Orders

Srinagar, Aug 30: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Friday ordered release of two detainees from preventive custody under PSA forthwith if they are not required in connection with any other case.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar passed the orders while allowing separate petitions by the detainees—Zahoor Ahmad Dar from Kulgam and Sehran Muzaffar Dar of Srinagar—against detention orders—(No.70/DMK/PSA/2022 dated 27.08.2022) and (No.DMS/PSA/82/ 2022 dated 30.08.2022) issued by District Magistrate of Kulgam and Srinagar respectively.

“The legal position is well settled that resort to preventive detention has to be taken only in cases where there is an urgent need to detain a person so as to prevent him from indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the maintenance of public order or security of the State,” the court said while quashing Sehran’s detention order, adding, “When there is unsatisfactory and unexplained delay in executing the order of detention, such delay would throw considerable doubt on the genuineness of the subjective satisfaction recorded by the detaining authority. This would lead to a legitimate inference that the detaining authority was not really and genuinely satisfied as regards the necessity for detaining the detenue (detainee).”
The court also also underscored that a detainee cannot be detained under PSA when the grounds are vague and lack material particulars as the same prevents a detainee from making an effective representation against his detention. “Therefore, there has been violation of constitutional guarantees envisaged under Article 22(5) of the Constitution,” the court said while deciding Zahoor plea.