Srinagar, Oct 07: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed the preventive detention of a 65-year-old Doda resident under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), holding that the authorities failed to establish any link between the cases against him and disturbance of public order.
Justice M A Chowdhary, while allowing a habeas corpus petition filed by Din Mohd Wani of Shuryan, Doda, quashed detention order no. PSA/02 of 2026 dated April 28, 2026, issued by the District Magistrate, Doda. The court directed that Wani be released forthwith, provided he was not required in any other case.
Wani had challenged his detention through his son, Shahraz Hussain Wani, arguing that the detention order was passed mechanically and violated constitutional safeguards. He contended that the allegations relating to bovine transportation, smuggling and cruelty to animals were matters of “law and order” and did not amount to activities prejudicial to “public order”.
The authorities, however, defended the detention, stating that Wani had been involved in cases registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and that his activities posed a potential threat to public order.
The court noted that two FIRs had been registered against Wani at Police Station Doda – FIR no. 0050/2026 under sections 223 BNS and 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and FIR no. 0133/2025 under section 299 BNS. Three daily diary report entries dated February 25, February 27 and March 1, 2026, were also relied upon by the authorities.
The High Court observed that the DDR entries had not culminated in criminal cases and merely recording allegations without specifying the alleged activity could not constitute a valid ground for detention.
It further found that the detention order did not inform Wani about the time period within which he could make a representation to the District Magistrate seeking revocation of the detention order. The court held that this omission violated his statutory and constitutional rights.
The court also found that the grounds of detention were almost a photocopy of the police dossier, indicating non-application of mind by the detaining authority.
Importantly, the court noted that the FIRs did not show that Wani’s alleged activities had resulted in communal tension, law-and-order problems or any disturbance of public order. It observed that no such development had been recorded following registration of the cases.
Relying on earlier judgments, including Hamid Mohd Vs UT of J&K, the court held that preventive detention under the PSA cannot be used merely on the basis of criminal cases without establishing a nexus with public order.
The petition was accordingly allowed and the detention order quashed.
