HC quashes PSA detention of Pulwama man

Srinagar, Oct 4: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh Friday set aside its single bench’s decision wherein detention of a youth from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district was upheld under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

Allowing Tanseem Ahmad Sheikh’s appeal against the single judge’s verdict, a division bench of Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M A Chowdhary observed that “the third detention order is not sustainable on the same grounds.”

The single judge bench had upheld Sheikh’s detention in a judgment passed on May 15 this year.

“The detention order, impugned before the Writ Court was thus, found to be based on almost the same grounds, which had been used to base two earlier detention orders against the appellant-detenue , which had been quashed by this Court,” the Division Bench said. The third detention order, it said, is thus, not sustainable on the same grounds.

The Division Bench observed that though authorities had taken a stand against their own record, that the detainee had not filed representation against his detention, whereas, representation, it said, was stated to have been considered and rejected by the Government of J&K.

“However, the same was not conveyed to the detenue, which vitiates the detention order impugned,” it said.

With these findings the court quashed the detention order the District Magistrate Pulwama had passed on May 24 last year against Tanseem, who is from Awantipora of Pulwama district.

The Court ordered his release forthwith if he was not required in any other case.