JUDGMENT

20-03-2024

1. Heard the learned counsel for the parties. Pursued the writ record and the documents therewith. The detention record produced from the respondents’ end also studied with due attention.

2. The petitioner, who has lost his personal liberty on account of being subjected to preventive detention by the respondent 2 - Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir acting in exercise of power under section 3 of the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PITNDPS Act, 1988 in short) holding the curtailment of the personal liberty of the petitioner essential for preventing him from committing any of the acts within the meaning of PITNDPS Act, 1988, is seeking restoration of personal liberty through the medium of this writ petition under article 226 of the Constitution of India.

3. It is by virtue of an order No. DIVCOM-“K”/98/2023 dated

06/07/2023 (hereinafter to be referred in short “the detention order”) passed by the respondent No. 2 –Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir that the petitioner’s preventive detention has been effected with a corresponding direction to be detained in the Central Jail Jammu, Kotbhalwal.

4. The respondent No. 2 –Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir came to be approached by the Senior Superintendent of Police, SSP, Sopore with a dossier No. Pross/PSA/2023/22336-38 dated 01/06/2023 reporting therein the alleged acts of omission and commission on the part of the petitioner which in the estimate of the SSP Sopore warranted the preventive detention of the petitioner under PITNDPS Act, 1988 (Central).

5. In the said dossier, the SSP Sopore referred the petitioner to be a member of an organized drug trafficking gang working in Sopore area being involved in procuring, transporting and sale of psychotropic substances. The petitioner was alleged to be clandestinely carrying out the activities of illicit traffic of narcotic drugs since a long period making the young generation getting addicted to drugs and psychotropic substances. The petitioner was alleged to be operating from his own network for procuring psychotropic substances and then selling the same at a high price to the gullible youth and school going children. The petitioner is also alleged to be operating in district Baramulla for illicit sale of drugs and psychotropic substances by his own network of drug paddlers. The petitioner is reported to have been booked on two occasions in cases one under FIR No. 10/2019 of the Police Station Dangiwacha for alleged commission of offences under sections 8/22-29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 ( in short NDPS Act, 1985), and in FIR No. 229/2022 dated 10/10/2022 of the Police Station Sopore for alleged commission of offences u/s 8/21,29 NDPS Act, 1985 being found in alleged possession of 15 gms. of brown sugar contraband. In relation to both the FIRs, the petitioner was reported to have been bailed out by the competent court of law. However in the dossier, the SSP Sopore did not mention as vide which order/s, by which court/s of law and at which stage of the case/s related to said two FIRs the petitioner came to be granted bail with respect to said two FIRs.

6. The respondent No. 2 - Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, in order to pass the detention order, came to formulate grounds of detention for serving a subjective satisfaction to himself that the petitioner needed to be subjected to preventive detention and for this purpose came to draw his subjective satisfaction by reference to his implication in said two FIRs.

7. The respondent No. 2- Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir came to address a communication No. Divcom/RA-Detn/(430)/7213134/ 2023 dated 06/07/2023 to the Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) Home Department, Govt. of J&K thereby apprising the Government of UT with respect to passing of preventive detention order against the petitioner and thereby sought an approval to the said detention order.

8. The respondent No. 2 - Divis