The central legal point established in the judgment is the need for a direct and inevitable link between preventive detention and harm, danger, or alarm to the general public in the context of 'public order'.

JUDGMENT

1. Petitioner, through his maternal uncle Fayaz Ahmad Dar, has assailed his detention ordered by District Magistrate, Pulwama (the detaining authority) vide its order No. 36/DMP/PSA-22 dated 19.05.2022 (the impugned order). In terms of the impugned order aforesaid, the petitioner has been put under preventive detention with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of the public order.

2. Before adverting to the grounds of challenge urged by the learned counsel for the petitioner ('the detenue?) to assail the impugned order, it is necessary to notice the material facts on the basis of which the detaining authority has derived its subjective satisfaction for placing the detenue under the preventive detention.

3. As per the grounds of detention served upon the detenue, which are framed by the detaining authority on the basis of Police report dated 18-05- 2022, he is alleged to be involved in motivating and provoking the innocent youth, young and tender-aged boys for resorting to anti-social activities and that he is an active member of the gang 'TRATH GOLA' which is headed by Abdul Hamid Dar R/O Tujan Pulwama along with some other associates and is active in many Districts of the Valley. After the information was received by the police about the illegal activities of the detenue, FIR No. 123/2022 under Sections 420, 120-B IPC was registered and at the time of framing the grounds of detention, the detenue was shown to be on Police Remand. As it reveals from the grounds of detention, the detenue had been active member of the gang since 2012, which was dishonestly and fraudulently extorting money worth Crores of rupees from gullible people on the pretext of paying returns in double and triple under the 'TRATH GOLA' a scam. It is also stated that the detenue had lured the people into the trap and the amount so collected was used in illegal, illegitimate and illicit activities. It is further alleged that the detenue along with his other associates hatched a conspiracy to loot the general masses and persuaded many to sold their properties to invest in 'TRATH GOLA' the scam, and that, since the detenue had applied for bail in the aforesaid FIR, therefore, the detaining authority was of the opinion that remaining at large of the detenue would be detrimental to the maintenance of peace and public order.

4. It is on the basis of these allegations contained in the FIR, the detaining authority arrived at subjective satisfaction to detain the detenue in order to restrain him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. The detaining authority, thus, found it imperative to detain the detenue by invoking Section 8 of the J&K Public Safety Act and it is in the aforesaid backdrop, the impugned detention order has been passed against the detenue and he has been lodged in District Jail Bhaderwah.

5. Despite opportunity granted, counter affidavit on behalf of the respondents has not been filed. Mr. Asif Maqbool, Dy. AG, has provided scanned copy of the detention record.

6. The impugned order of detention has been challenged by the Detenue on several grounds. Learned counsel for the Detenue, however, laid much emphasis on the following grounds:

(I) That the detaining authority has relied upon the allegations contained in FIR No.123/2022 registered under Section 420, 120B IPC for indulging in cheating which, if found proved against the detenue, would constitute a criminal act and said criminal act can, by no means, be treated as an act to harm to public order;

(II) That the material relied upon by the detaining authority to derive subjective satisfaction with regard to necessity of putting the detenue under preventive detention was not supplied to the detenue in the language, which he could understand or read, thereby incapacitating him from making an effective representation to the detaining authority/government against his detention;

(III) That the grounds of detention are vague,