Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 11
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed a preventive detention order against an Anantnag man under the Public Safety Act (PSA), ruling that nearly two-decade-old criminal cases and the absence of a demonstrated threat to public order could not justify his detention.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Parihar allowed a petition filed by Rouf Ahmad Wani challenging a detention order issued by the District Magistrate, Anantnag, on October 24, 2024. The court quashed the order at the pre-execution stage.
The court noted that the principal incidents cited by the authorities dated back to 2005, 2006 and 2007, substantially weakening their relevance to the need for preventive detention years later.
It also took note of Wani’s acquittal in three cases cited against him: FIR No. 35/2006 on September 16, 2009; FIR No. 82/2007 on December 30, 2013; and FIR No. 89/2007 on May 13, 2017.
The bench observed that acquittal in a criminal case did not automatically render the underlying conduct irrelevant to preventive detention. However, authorities were required to establish a continuing and proximate link between past incidents and the alleged need to detain the person.
The court also examined FIR No. 16/2020, registered at Achabal police station under Sections 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. It held that the mere registration of the case did not establish a threat to public order warranting preventive detention.
Distinguishing between a breach of law and order and a disturbance of public order, the court said every criminal act did not necessarily disrupt the even tempo of community life or affect the public at large.
The bench further noted that the detention order had remained unexecuted for a considerable period and that the authorities had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the delay.
It said unexplained delay in executing a detention order could weaken the link between the grounds cited for detention and the alleged need to prevent prejudicial activities, particularly when the order relied substantially on stale incidents.
The court accordingly allowed Wani’s petition and quashed the detention order issued by the District Magistrate, Anantnag.
