Srinagar- Irrelevant grounds, being taken into consideration for making the order of detention, are sufficient to vitiate it, the High Court said while quashing two detention orders under Public Safety Act including against a prominent Islamic cleric popularly known as Madnee.
“One irrelevant ground is sufficient to vitiate the order as it is not possible to assess, in what manner and to what extent, that irrelevant ground operated on the mind of the appropriate authority, and contributed to his satisfaction that it was necessary to detain the detenu in order to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of the public order or security of the State,” a bench of Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul said while quashing detention order under PSA dated 29 June 2022, issued by Deputy Commissioner Anantnag against a youth Zubair Ahmad Khan of Rampora Mattan Anantnag. “As a corollary, respondents are directed to set the detenu (Khan) at liberty forthwith provided he is not required in any other case.”
Meanwhile a bench of Justice Javed Iqbal Wani quashed a PSA order passed by Deputy Commissioner Budgam dated 16 September 2022 against Abdul Majeed Dar alias Madnee.
“…as regards grounds of detention being the ditto copy of the dossier prepared by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Budgam, has necessitated the perusal of the record which reveals that the grounds of detention are admittedly the ditto copy of the dossier,” the court said, adding, “In law, it is the detaining authority, which has to go through the reports and other inputs received from concerned police and other agencies and on such perusal draw subjective satisfaction that a person is to be placed under the preventive detention.”
It is, thus, for the detaining authority to formulate the grounds of detention and satisfy itself that the grounds of detention so formulated warrant passing of the order of preventive detention, the court said.
“Viewed thus, in the context of what has been observed, analyzed and considered in the preceding paragraphs, instant petition is allowed and consequent to which the impugned order of detention bearing No. DMB/PSA/42 of 2022 dated 16.09.2022 is quashed, with the direction to the respondents including the Jail authorities concerned to release the detenu (Madnee) forthwith from preventive custody unless required in any other case,” the court added.
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