SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Thursday quashed the detention of a former Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) corporator under the Public Safety Act (PSA), citing a “lack of clear evidence” on the part of the detaining authority.
According to Srinagar based news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com, a division bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Tashi Rabstan, Acting Chief Justice, and Justice M.A. Chowdhary, while annulling the detention of Aqib Ahmad Renzu, a political activist and former SMC Corporator from Brein Nishat area of Srinagar, criticized the government’s “excessive reliance on preventive detention laws.” The judges ruled that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify Renzu’s detention.
In a detailed judgment, the bench observed, “The grounds of detention do not detail how and where the detenue was provoking the youth and what those alleged illegal activities were.” The judges further criticized the government for failing to provide Renzu with all necessary documents to enable him to make an effective representation against his detention.
Renzu, who had been detained under the Public Safety Act, challenged his detention through his counsel, Adv Shuja Ul Haq, arguing that it was illegal and arbitrary. His lawyer contended that Renzu was a staunch nationalist who had worked closely with the government for peace and development in the Kashmir Valley.
The judges said that the government had failed to comply with the procedural safeguards provided under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India. They found that the government had failed to provide clear and specific evidence to justify Renzu’s detention.
The bench called for greater transparency and accountability in the use of preventive detention laws, reiterating the fundamental importance of personal liberty and the right to be free from arbitrary detention.
The court also ordered the authorities to release the detenue (former corporator) forthwith if he is not required in any other case.
