Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday quashed detention order under Public Safety Act against a youth from Shopian and ordered authorities to release him forthwith from the preventive detention.
A resident of Allyalpora Shopian, the detainee, Waseem Ahmad Sheikh, had through his father Bashir Ahmad Sheikh filed the petition last year against the detention order passed by the deputy commissioner Shopian 10 August 2019.
“The only precious and valuable right guaranteed to a (detainee) is of making an effective representation against the order of detention. Such an effective representation can only be made by a (detainee) when he is supplied the relevant grounds of detention, including the materials considered by the detaining authority for arriving at the requisite subjective satisfaction to pass the detention order,” a bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey said.
“Since the material is not supplied to the (detaiee), the right of the (detainee) to file such representation is impinged upon and the detention order is resultantly vitiated,” the court said and underlined that judgments on this point, both of the Supreme Court and of various High Courts including J&K, galore.
“So far as the ground taken i.e non communication of the grounds of detention is concerned, perusal of file reveals, that there is nothing to show or suggest that the grounds of detention couched in English language were explained to the (detainee) in a language understood by him, as there is no material to that effect on record,” the court said, adding, “the grounds of challenge set up by petitioner (Waseem), succeed and the detention stands vitiated. Other grounds urged do not therefore, need to be separately addressed.”
Subsequently, the court quashed the detention order and directed the authorities to release Waseem from preventive custody forthwith.
“Registrar Judicial of this Court shall forthwith convey the order to District Magistrate Shopian and Jail Superintendent concerned for compliance of the order forthwith.” (GNS)
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