In first three replies to HC, Jammu and Kashmir drops PSA charge after challenge
The J&K decision to drop the PSA charge in the first three challenges is significant given that the majority of over 250 writs of habeas corpus filed since August 5 challenged detentions
All the replies were filed by the senior AAG on September 30.
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In its first three responses to more than 250 writs of habeas corpus challenging preventive detentions under the stringent J&K Public Safety Act, the state Home department has informed the Srinagar wing of Jammu & Kashmir High Court that it has revoked the PSA slapped against the detainees.
Confirming the dropping of the PSA charge, J&K Senior Additional Advocate General B A Dar informed the single-judge bench of Justice Ali Mohammed Magrey that it has revoked the detention orders passed by the District Magistrates in the three cases.
All the replies were filed by the senior AAG on September 30. And after the government response, in all the three cases, the court ruled the same day, disposing the habeas corpus petitions filed by the relatives of the detainees as “settled”.
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“In that view of the matter, the petition does not survive, therefore, is disposed of as settled,” Justice Magrey ordered in each case.
* In the first case, the government informed the court that the PSA invoked on August 17 against the petitioner was revoked on September 2. Petitioner Asrar Yaqoob Pahlo’s relatives had moved the High Court on August 28.
* In the second case, the government said that the PSA invoked on August 8 had been revoked on September 29. Petitioner Zahid Firdous Mir’s relatives had moved the High Court on September 2.
Explained
Majority challenge PSA Sec 22
The J&K decision to drop the PSA charge in the first three challenges is significant given that the majority of over 250 writs of habeas corpus filed since August 5 — 147 petitions — challenged detentions under Section 22 of the PSA, saying it was ‘not in good faith’.
* And in the third case, the government said the PSA invoked on August 27 was revoked on September 28. Petitioner Javid Ahmad Khan’s relatives had moved the High Court on September 19.
The second and third cases challenged detentions under Section 8 of the PSA which lays out the ground for detention of certain persons: “the Government may if satisfied with respect to any person that with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state or the maintenance of public order.” In other words, the petitioners challenged the detention order on the ground that their activity was not a threat to the security of the state.
The first case challenged the detention under Section 22 of the Act. That section states: “No suit, prosecution or any other legal proceeding shall be against any person for anything done or intended to be done in good faith in pursuance of the provisions of this Act.” This effectively means that petitioner challenged the detention order on the ground that order was not passed in good faith.
“B.A.Dar, Sr. AAG, has produced a copy of the Government Order No. Home/PB-V/1544 of 2019 dated 02.09.2019, in terms whereof the detention order of the detenue bearing No. DMS/ PSA/ 86/2019 dated 17.08.2019 has been revoked. In that view of the matter, the petition does not survive, therefore, is disposed of as settled,” the order stated. Identical orders have been passed in the other two cases.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
