The main legal point established in the judgment is the preventive nature of the detention under the Public Safety Act, aimed at preventing anti-social and subversive elements from endangering the security of the state.

JUDGMENT :

1. In terms of Detention Order No. 52/DMK/PSA/2022 dated 25.06.2022 (for short ‘impugned order’) passed by District Magistrate, Kulgamrespondent No.2, the petitioner namely Shoaib Akhter S/O Farooq Ahmad Wani R/O Nillow Kulgam (for short ‘detenue’) was ordered to be detained under preventive custody in terms of Section-8(a) of Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (for short ‘Act’) with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State.

2. The impugned order has been challenged on the grounds taken in the instant petition by the detenue through his father. The plea of the petitioner is that the detenue, in terms of the impugned order, has been detained under the Act without any justification and the allegations leveled in terms of the grounds of detention have no nexus with the detenue and have been fabricated by the police in order to justify its illegal action of detaining the detenue. It is pleaded that the order of detention had not been executed in tune with the Act and the directions of the Detaining authority, which in turn had deprived the detenue from making an effective and meaningful representation against his detention. Another plea of the detenue is that he has not been provided the relevant material/documents relied upon by the Detaining authority. The detenue, post execution, has not been informed that he can make a representation before the Detaining authority, therefore, a valuable right of the detenue stands defeated. Non-supply of translated copies of relevant documents as well as non-explanation of the documents/material in the language known to the detenue also vitiates the detention as illegal and unconstitutional.

3. Pursuant to notice, respondents have filed their reply affidavit, vehemently, resisting assertions made in the petition. It is contended that detaining a person under the provisions of Public Safety Act is always preventive in nature and its sole aim is to prevent a person from pursuing anti-national/anti-social activities, which are prejudicial to the maintenance of security of State, etc. In the instant case there is enough material against the detenue which is highly suggestive of the fact that the normal law of the land is not sufficient to prevent him from continuing with his anti-national activities and, it is evident that the detenue is highly motivated and is not likely to desist from anti-national and unlawful activities.

4. Heard learned counsel for the parties, perused the detention record produced by learned counsel for the respondents and considered the matter.

5. Perusal of the detention record indicates that the detenue was working as OGW/associate of banned terrorist outfit ‘LeT’. The record further reveals that the detenue always remains in search of an opportunity to exploit any situation and indulge in anti-national/subversive activities and the involvement of the detenue in anti-national activities indicates that he is hell bent to continue such type of activities. Furthermore, there is every possibility that the detenue will again indulge in antinational activities if not detained under the preventive laws. The grounds of detention reveals that from the clandestine sources it has been learnt that the detenue has been actively propagating the ideology of targeting minority communities, whose complicity in the recent civilian killings cannot be ruled out as the main aim of the detenue is to disturb the communal harmony within the UT of J&K and also the peaceful atmosphere, with the intention to generate fear/terror among the general masses. If the detenue is allowed to remain at large at this juncture, he will provoke more and more youth to indulge in antinational, criminal and subversive activities and there is every possibility that the presence of detenue will endanger the life and liberty of peace loving citizens especially the minority community/non-locals. Further, the grounds of detention indicates that the unfette