DM has tried to prove ‘lightening never strikes twice’ idiom wrong: HC quashes PSA detention
Srinagar, Jun 4: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has quashed the detention under Public Safety Act (PSA) of a man from Kulgam, saying the District Magistrate Kulgam proved the idiom “lightening never strikes twice incorrect” by second time coming up with preventive detention against the person. Quashing the detention against Yasir Fayaz Rah of Kulgam, a bench of Justice Rahul Bharti observed that Rah had been made to suffer twice to lose not only his personal liberty but also period of life in preventive detention on the basis of two successive detention orders which ex-facie were unsustainable in the eyes of law as if it was of no concern to the District Magistrate to mind his pen and order the preventive detention of the petitioner in following the law in letter and spirit.
“District Magistrate, Kulgam proved the idiom 'lightning never strikes twice’ incorrect by second time coming up with impugned preventive detention order No. 22/DMK/PSA/2024 dated 25th of December, 2024 against the petitioner directing his preventive detention in order to prevent him from acting in a manner prejudicial to the security of the State,” the court said.
The court noted that the very opening of this second time detention order was font to font and word to word ditto with detention order No. 09/DMK/PSA/2021 dated 18th of October, 2021 beginning with “whereas on the basis of grounds of detention placed before me by the Superintendent of Police, Kulgam …..”
This singular statement on the part of the District Magistrate, Kulgam, the bench said, was found seriously flawed by the Court to quash the detention of Rah by a two-page judgment by observing that it is the detaining authority which formulates grounds of detention and not the sponsoring agency, that is the Superintendent of Police who hands over prepared grounds of detention for a District Magistrate to “simply affix his signature and stamp” on an order of detention of a detainee. With these findings, the court resultantly Rah’s detention order passed by the District Magistrate, Kulgam on December 25 last year. The Court ordered that the petitioner (Rah), who is detained in Central Jail, Srinagar be released forthwith or in case he is lodged in any other jail, upon being shifted from Central Jail, Srinagar, then from the very said jail.” Meanwhile, allowing a separate plea, the court quashed the detention order under PSA passed by the District Magistrate on December 15, 2023 against Ubaid Bashir Wani of Awantipora and ordered authorities to restore his personal liberty by his immediate release from the concerned Jail.
