The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has annulled the preventive detention of a 22-year-old man and awarded him ₹2 lakh in compensation.
Justice Rahul Bharti, presiding over the case, quashed the detention under Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act. In his ruling, Justice Bharti noted, “Release from illegal custody restores the fundamental right to personal liberty, but it does not compensate for the injury suffered. Therefore, this Court awards ₹2 lakh in compensation to the petitioner, payable by the respondents, as a public law remedy.”
The petitioner was accused of providing logistic support to terrorists in Rajouri-Pulwama and allegedly sharing information on security forces’ movements with Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists while his father contended that his son had been illegally detained and approached the High Court for relief.
The High Court found the petitioner’s detention to be unlawful, citing amendments to the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, which removed “security of the State” as grounds for preventive detention.
The court criticized the district magistrate for the arbitrary application of the Public Safety Act, calling it a frivolous exercise. The ruling emphasized that the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India must be upheld, and unlawful infringements should not go unchecked by constitutional courts.
Advocate GN Shaheen represented the petitioner, while Advocate Zahid Noor appeared for the State.