Srinagar, Sep 2: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Wednesday quashed detention of a man from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district under Public Safety Act (PSA), noting that the detention lacked a live and proximate link between his past conduct and the need for preventive custody.
Allowing his plea assailing Pulwama District Magistrate’s detention order dated July 10, 2025, a bench of Justice M A Chowdhary ordered immediate release of Suhail Fayaz Najar of Hariparigam, Awantipora, Pulwama, while quashing the detention order.
The court noted that the main material relied upon against Najar related to an FIR registered in 2021 under provisions of the UAPA.
He had subsequently been granted bail by the competent court.
The court observed that mere awareness of the bail order was insufficient and that the detaining authority was required to establish fresh or continuing material showing a real and proximate likelihood of prejudicial activities after his release.
The subsequent proceedings against Najar under Sections 107/151 CrPC did not provide the necessary basis for preventive detention, as the record did not demonstrate that any fresh material had emerged indicating a likelihood of his engaging in activities prejudicial to the security of the State, the court noted.
The court held that reference to the Amarnath Yatra could not, by itself, justify detention, observing that a general apprehension arising from a sensitive event could not substitute for specific material connecting an individual to a security threat.
Another key infirmity was the failure of the authorities to establish that the entire material relied upon for the detention was supplied to the detainee.
The court said such non-supply impaired his constitutional right under Article 22(5) to make an effective representation against the detention.
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