The detainment of an individual under preventive detention must adhere to due process and legality, and any serious lacuna in the execution of the detention warrant can render the detainment illegal.

JUDGMENT :

RAHUL BHARTI, J.

1. Heard learned counsel for the parties, perused the pleadings and also examined the record.

2. The respondent No. 2-District Magistrate Reasi, by virtue of an order No. 02-PSA of 2023 dated 20.02.2023, has come to subject the petitioner to preventive detention in exercise of jurisdiction under Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978. It is this loss of his personal liberty through the mode of aforementioned detention order which the petitioner is calling in question to seek its restoration and for that purpose the present writ petition for a writ of habeas corpus under article 226 of the Constitution of India has been brought by the petitioner acting through his mother.

3. The impugned detention order No. 02-PSA of 2023 dated 20.02.2023 passed by the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Reasi is based upon the grounds of detention as formulated separately by the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Reasi.

4. In the said grounds of detention, the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Reasi has referred to a dossier No. Pros/Dossier-04/2023/9738-41 dated 17.02.2023 served by the respondent No. 3-Superintendent of Police (SSP), Reasi whereby the preventive detention of the petitioner was solicited.

5. In the said dossier, the petitioner came to be introduced as a person instrumental in instigating the masses to create law and order problem in the area by being active in anti-national activities and maintaining effective contacts with some anti-national elements/PAK handlers through social media apps. The petitioner came to be alleged to be in close contact with OGWs of the area and engaged in providing mobile numbers of the families of the killed terrorists and missing youth of the area to the PAK handlers so as to revive militancy/terrorist activity in the area of district Reasi. The petitioner’s cousin, namely, Mohd. Rafiq and Nazir Ahmed are said to have joined LET outfit in the year 1998 and one of whom came to be eliminated by the security forces and other having surrendered. With respect to the alleged activities of the petitioner, the Police Station Mahore, Police Post Dewal and Operation Camp Sarh are said to have generated Daily Diary Reports No. 14 dated 03.02.2023, 04 dated 08.02.2023 and 13 dated 12.02.2023.

6. Thus, in a nutshell within a span of ten days period reckoning from 03.02.2023 to 12.02.2023, the alleged documented activities of the petitioner came to be reckoned by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Reasi as prejudicial to the security of the country and in particular of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir warranting the preventive detention of the petitioner.

7. The grounds of detention formulated by the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Reasi followed the script of the dossier and by repeat of the same the subjective satisfaction on the part of the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Reasi subjecting the petitioner to preventive detention is said to have been arrived at resulting in issuance of the detention order.

8. The petitioner is a twenty one (21) years’ young person whose personal liberty has come to be clipped by the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Reasi by reckoning his activities to be prejudicial to the security of the nation and in particular in UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

9. The detention order came to be executed on 21.02.2023 through Executing Officer, Inspector Arun Singh PID No. EXJ-046179 of DPL Reasi who is said to have read over the detention order to the petitioner explaining to him in Gojri language the contents of the detention order and the grounds of detention and also making aware the petitioner about his right to make a representation against the order of detention.

10. The detention order No. 02-PSA of 2023 dated 20.02.2023 so passed by the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Reasi came to be approved by the Government vide a Govt. Order No. Home/PB-V/366 of 2023 dated 24.02.2023. Later, vide a Govt. Order No. Home/PB