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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR HCP 279/2025 Reserved on: 22.10.2026 Pronounced on: 30.10.2026 Uploaded on: 31.10. 2026 Whether the operative part or full judgment is pronounced: Full

1. Ajaz Ahmad Seh (aged 26 years) …Petitioner(s)/Appellant(s).

S/o Gulam Nabi Seh R/o Sehpora, Tehsil Rajpora and District Pulwama Through his father, Gulam Nabi Seh S/o Late Mohd Shaban She, R/o Shepora, Tehsil Rajpora, District Pulwama, aged R/o Sehpora, Tehsil Rajpora, District Pulwama Through: Mr. Mohammad Ayoub Bhat, Advocate with Ms. Mahajabeen Bhat, Advocate Vs.

1. Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir ...Respondent(s).

Through Chief Secretary to the Government, Home Department, J &K, Civil Secretariat, Srinagar/Jammu 2. District Magistrate, Pulwama Through: Mr. Jahangir Ahmad Dar, GA CORAM:HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE WASIM SADIQ NARGAL, JUDGE

JUDGEMENT

30.10.2026 Brief facts of the case

1. The petitioner, Ajaz Ahmad Seh, aged 27 years, a resident of Shehpora, Tehsil Rajpora, District Pulwama, by profession a driver, has been taken into preventive custody vide Order No. 34/DMP/PSA/2025 dated 28.07.2025 (hereinafter referred to as “the impugned order”), passed by respondent No. 2 in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”), on the basis of a dossier submitted by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Pulwama.

2. The petitioner has approached this Court through his father and is presently lodged in District Jail, Udhampur. Pertinent to mention that, according to the petitioner, he was initially taken into custody by the police in the first week of July 2025, whereafter the impugned order dated

28.07.2025 came to be issued against him.

3. As per the grounds of detention, the petitioner is alleged to have remained in contact with one Aashiq Ahmad Nengroo, stated to be a terrorist handler affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), through telephone number +#####370023 and the encrypted application Zangi, accessed through a secured VPN, for the purpose of communicating with handlers based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir/Pakistan.

4. It is further alleged that the petitioner acted as an Over Ground Worker (OGW) by providing food, shelter, clothing, transportation and information to active terrorists, including one Haris Nazir, a resident of Kachipora, Rajpora, Pulwama.

5. The grounds of detention also make a reference to the execution of bonds under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, on 21.04.2025, 04.06.2025 and 04.07.2025, respectively. It is further alleged that, notwithstanding the same, the petitioner continued to indulge in activities involving obstruction of the daily activities of the local residents and intimidation.

6. The police dossier records that the petitioner was in contact with terrorist handlers, was being encouraged to join the ranks of terrorists and to motivate other local youth to do so, and was providing information regarding the movement of the security forces in the area.

7. The dossier further records that the petitioner was assessed to be at risk of engaging in activities associated with terrorist organisations. It also refers to the possibility of his involvement in the targeted killings of non-local labourers, political workers, Kashmiri Pandit employees and police personnel.

8. On the basis of the material contained in the police dossier and the grounds of detention, the competent authority passed the impugned order under Section 8 of the Act, whereby the petitioner has been placed under preventive detention. Feeling aggrieved of the same, the petitioner has approached this Court.

Submissions on behalf of the petitioner

9. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that respondent No. 2 has passed the impugned order on the basis of an undated report furnished by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Pulwama, without due application of mind. It is contended t