CM’s sons point out glaring errors in order of DM
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 14: High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed the Public Safety Act (PSA) detention of a Pulwama man.
The order was passed in a plea of the detenue Mudasir Ahmad Bhat filed by Advocate Zamir Abdullah with Zahir Abdullah, sons of the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who pointed out glaring errors and inconsistencies in the order passed by the District Magistrate Pulwama.
Justice Rahul Bharti quashed the PSA after observing glaring errors and inconsistencies in the detention record which, according to the High Court, reflects lack of application of mind by the authorities while passing the impugned order of detention.
“The exercise of jurisdiction under the PSA is constitutionally meant and understood to be very serious jurisdiction which admits of no carelessness on the part of its handlers at any stage”, the High Court said and directed immediate release of the detenue.
The detention order was passed by the District Magistrate Pulwama on April 30 last year based on a dossier submitted by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pulwama, wherein Bhat was referred to as an OGW providing logistic support to subversive elements.
In its decision, the court found significant discrepancies between the police dossier and the grounds of detention prepared by the District Magistrate. The court also noted a serious inconsistency in official records.
The authorities claimed that Bhat was arrested on May 1, 2025 after the detention order, while a communication from the Superintendent of District Jail Udhampur indicated that the detenue had been lodged in the jail since December 5, 2024 under the same detention order.
The court observed that the authorities appeared unaware of their own records and that preventive detention cases were being handled casually and termed the detention ‘painful and pinching to the constitutional sensitivity’ governing preventive detention powers.
The post HC quashes PSA detention of Pulwama man appeared first on Daily Excelsior.