The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has set aside the preventive detention order of Mohd. Altaf Najar, a B.Tech graduate from Pulwama, who was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) as an alleged terror sympathizer. The court ruled that the detention was based solely on proceedings under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), with no substantial evidence linking him to terrorist activities.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice M.A. Chowdhary highlighted that the preventive detention order was based on vague allegations, making it difficult for Najar to file an effective representation against it.
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“Since there was no detailing of any incident other than the proceeding under Section 107 CrPC, the grounds of detention drawn by the detaining authority appear to be vague. In view of these vague grounds, the detenue was not in a position to move any meaningful and effective representation.”
Background of the Case
The detention order was issued by the District Magistrate, Pulwama, and was initially upheld by a Single Judge of the High Court. Najar’s father subsequently filed a Letters Patent Appeal challenging this order, arguing that:
- The detention grounds were merely a reproduction of the police dossier, lacking independent application of mind by the detaining authority.
- Najar had already been bound down under Section 107 CrPC, and no additional allegations had been made against him beyond this preventive measure.
- He was not provided with the material relied upon to justify his detention, violating his right to make an effective representation.
Legal Flaws in the Detention Order
Upon reviewing the case, the Division Bench found that the only allegation against Najar was that he was present with a group of people at Gund Kakapora on July 7, 2023. The police dossier merely stated that they could not explain their presence there.
“It is also interesting to note that in the complaint under Section 107 CrPC, the Police Station, Kakapora had just mentioned that the detenue along with some other persons was found at Gund Kakpora on 07.07.2023 and that they could not explain as to how they were all there. This was not sufficient to even proceed against the detenue under Section 107 CrPC, let alone impose preventive detention.”
The court also noted that while Najar was accused of working for a terrorist commander, no concrete incident supporting this claim was documented in the police dossier or the detention order.
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“Though the detenue had been shown working at the behest of one terrorist commander, no such incident has either been diarized in the police dossier or in the detention order, which could have justified the preventive detention.”
Given the lack of substantive evidence and the vague nature of the allegations, the High Court set aside the Single Judge’s order and quashed the detention. The court ordered Najar’s immediate release unless he was required in any other case.
“Having regard to the aforesaid observations, we are of the opinion that the impugned order of detention before the writ court is not sustainable and is liable to be set aside.”
Case Title: Mohd Altaf Najar Vs UT Of J&K
