Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 29: In a significant ruling, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed the preventive detention of Ghulam Qadar, a resident of Chenani, Udhampur, who had been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978 as a habitual bovine smuggler.
The detention order, issued by the District Magistrate Udhampur in December 2024 and approved by the Home Department, had described Qadar as a repeat offender whose activities threatened communal harmony and public order. He was lodged in Central Jail Kot Bhalwal under Order No. 15-PSA-2024.
Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, while pronouncing the judgment reserved earlier this month, held that the detention was “unwarranted, misconceived and illegal” as it was based on stale incidents of 2023 that had already culminated in convictions with fines. The High Court observed that there was no fresh material to justify preventive detention and emphasized that PSA cannot be used as a substitute for ordinary criminal proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The judgment underlined that vague and unsubstantiated grounds of detention violate constitutional rights under Article 21 and 22(5). Authorities had relied on three FIRs registered in 2023 in which Qadar was convicted and fined for transporting cattle illegally. The District Magistrate had argued that such activities posed a risk of disturbing communal harmony. However, the High Court noted that no actual law-and-order disturbance or communal tension was recorded in connection with those cases.
The High Court set aside the detention order and directed the immediate release of Qadar from preventive custody unless required in any other case.
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