Court Quashes PSA Detention Order Against Shopian Resident, Directs Immediate Release
SRINAGAR, AUGUST 12: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that an illegal act committed by a juvenile cannot be used to stigmatize his future or subsequently form the basis of a preventive detention order under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Justice Sanjay Dhar, while hearing a petition challenging the preventive detention of a Shopian resident, quashed the detention order and directed the authorities to release the detenue forthwith, provided he was not required in connection with any other case.
The case related to allegations concerning activities linked to militant organisations. The Court, however, noted that the detenue was a juvenile at the time of his arrest in the earlier FIR and had subsequently been released on bail by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The Court took note of the detenue’s date of birth as October 15, 2006, observing that he was below 18 years of age when the earlier case was registered against him.
Justice Dhar observed that an unlawful act committed during childhood cannot permanently prejudice a person’s future and cannot later be relied upon as the foundation for preventive detention.
“An illegal act committed by a juvenile does not stigmatize his future and likewise, an illegal act committed by a juvenile cannot form basis for issuance of a detention order subsequently,” the Court observed.
The High Court further emphasised that the issue assumes greater significance because a juvenile cannot be detained under preventive detention law in the manner sought to be applied in the present case.
After examining the circumstances, the Court held that the impugned PSA detention order was legally unsustainable and accordingly set it aside.
The Court directed the authorities to release the detenue forthwith, subject to the condition that he was not required in any other criminal case.
The ruling underscores the importance of juvenile justice principles and makes it clear that conduct attributed to a person during childhood cannot, by itself, become a permanent basis for preventive detention at a later stage.(KNC)
