Jammu & Kashmir High Court
Shafiq Alias Shaku vs State Of J&K And Ors on 4 June, 2012
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU. HC (W) No. 3 OF 2012 Shafiq alias Shaku Petitioners State of J&K and ors Respondent !Mr. Raghu Mehta, Advocate ^Mr. Gagan Basotra, AAG Mr. JUSTICE J.P. SINGH Date: 04.06.2012 :J U D G M E N T :
CrMA No. 2 OF 2012 Shafiq alias Shaku seeks quashing of District Magistrate, Udhampurs Order No. PSA-2011/DMU/JC/05 dated 19.12.2011 whereby he was ordered to be detained under Section 8 of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978. Appearing for the detenue, his learned counsel questions the Detention, inter alia, on the ground that having been deprived of his right to represent against his detention to the Government because of Detaining Authoritys omission to supply him the material that was relied upon by it in contemplating the Detention, the Detention of Shafiq was unjustified and unconstitutional.
Considered the submissions of learned counsel for the parties advanced at the Bar and perused the Detention Records 2 produced by the learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the State.
Perusal of the Detention Records reveals that the detenue was supplied the warrant of detention (1 leaf) and the Grounds of Detention (2 leaves). The material relied upon by the Detaining Authority, as it is so indicated in the Grounds of Detention is, 6 Nos. of FIRs registered at Police Station Udhampur in the years 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2011, besides some records and material. Neither the copies of the FIRs nor the record/material relied upon by the Detaining Authority was supplied to the detenue as it so appears from the receipt executed by the detenue indicating the material that was supplied to him pursuant to his Detention. In the grounds of detention too, barring detail of FIR registered on March 31st, 2006, there is no mention of the allegations appearing in rest of the 5 First Information Reports.
The omission of the Detaining Authority to the supply copies of the FIRs, the Police Dossier and other material, relied upon by the District Magistrate, to the detenue has deprived him of his right guaranteed under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India to represent against his detention to the State Government. This is so because a detenue may not be able to represent against the detention seeking its withdrawal unless he would know as to what had weighed with the Detaining Authority in directing his detention, and such information, the detenue, would gather only if, all the material 3 that was considered and weighed with the Detaining Authority, had been supplied to him.
The deprivation of the petitioners right to personal liberty, without affording him opportunity to make effective representation against the detention to the State Government, therefore, renders his detention illegal being in violation of the provisions of Article 22 (5) of the Constitution of India and Section 13 of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978. This Petition, therefore, succeeds and is, accordingly allowed quashing District Magistrate, Udhampurs Order No. PSA-2011/DMU/JC/05 dated 19.12.2011.
A direction shall accordingly issue to the respondents to set forthwith the petitioner to liberty, provided he was not involved in any other case.
Detention Records be returned to the learned State counsel.
(J.P.Singh) Judge Jammu:
04.06.2012 Pawan Chopra