Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has set aside its single bench’s interim order by virtue of which operation of a detention order issued by the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir under Section 3 of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 was stayed.
“What appears is the learned Single Judge seems to have been swayed by the fact that the petitioner (Abdul Qayoom Bhat of Chanapora Srinagar), was enlarged on bail on 11.11.2022 and the detention order was passed after about four months on 27.04.2023,” said a bench of Chief Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice Rajesh Sekhr.
“However, it appears from the detention order dated 27.04.2023 that the Sr. Superintendent of Police Station, Srinagar after examine the records had move the concerned authorities vide his letter dated 28.02.20203 and also produced the support materials on 19.04.2023. Thereafter, the detention order was passed on 27.04.2023. As such it cannot be said that there was undue delay in the process in passing the detention order after the petitioner was released on bail on 11.11.2022,” the court said, adding, “From the pleadings relating to the detention order it appears that the authorities were considering the activities of the writ petitioner (Bhat) since his release on bail also and hence, it cannot be said definitively without examining the records that the delay of four and half months had snapped the live link. In our opinion, this is an aspect which could be examined after the records from the detaining authorities were called and considered, and not at the motion stage on the first day of consideration.”
Referring to Apex Court’s judgement in Subhash Popatlal Dave (2014), the court said that it has noted that if the petitioner (Bhat) had taken recourse to the legal remedy to challenge the order of detention even before it was executed, it is not open for him to contend that it should be quashed because there is no live link between the existing/subsequent situation and the previous situation.
“We are of the opinion that this is not a case where the learned Writ Court (Single Bench) could have passed the interim order suspending the detention order dated 27.04.2023,” the court said and allowed the appeal filed by the government.
The main grievance of the government was that the Single Judge ought not have stayed the operation of detention order at the first instance on the day of motion and that it will be against the well settled principle that in the matter of preventive detention, the Court ought be very careful in passing any interim order of suspending the detention order at the pre-execution stage.
Pertinently, Bhat had approached the Court, challenging the detention order No. Div. Com K/35/2023 dated 27.04.2023 passed by the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, on the grounds, inter-alia that the detention order was illegal and that he was falsely implicated in FIR No. 04/2022 u/s 8/22 of NDPS Act of P.S. Chanapora, in which, he was granted bail by the competent court on 11.11.2022.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
