Srinagar, Sep 15: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed the preventive detention of a South Kashmir resident booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on allegations of being an overground worker (OGW) of Lashkar-e-Toiba, observing that mere labelling of a person without sufficient particulars does not meet constitutional standards.
Justice M A Chowdhary, while allowing a petition filed by Ishfaq Ahmad Wani, said preventive detention cannot be based merely on labels and that authorities must disclose the factual basis linking the alleged activities of a detainee to the statutory purpose for which the extraordinary power is exercised.
“Preventive detention cannot rest upon mere labels,” the court observed, adding that the detaining authority must explain the factual position connecting the alleged activities of the person with the purpose of detention.
The court further held that a bare assertion describing a person as an OGW or claiming that his activities are prejudicial to the security of the Union Territory, without sufficient particulars, does not satisfy constitutional requirements.
The judge noted that the detainee must be provided enough information to understand the grounds that weighed with the detaining authority.
“A bald assertion that a person is an ‘OGW’ or that his activities are prejudicial to the security of the State/UT of J&K, without sufficient particulars enabling him to understand what precisely weighed with the detaining authority, does not meet the constitutional standard,” the court said.
The High Court also took note of the fact that Wani had already been granted bail.
Allowing the petition, the court quashed the PSA detention order against him, granting him relief from preventive detention.
The ruling underscores the requirement that preventive detention orders must be supported by specific factual material and cannot be sustained solely on broad allegations or labels.
