STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Justice Janak Raj Kotwal of J&K High Court on Saturday quashed the detention order of Simranjot Singh, who challenged the aforesaid order bearing No. 19 of 2016 dated December 29, 2016 passed by the District Magistrate, Jammu, under section 8(1)(a) of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, directing preventive detention of the petitioner in order to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
Justice J.R Kotwal after hearing Advocate Ankur Sharma appearing for the detenue whereas Senior Additional Advocate General S.S Nanda appearing for the State, observed that the subjective satisfaction arrived at by the detaining authority cannot be tested by this Court but it is to be borne in mind that the grounds of detention must disclose objective application of mind by the detaining authority and the satisfaction arrived at and the view taken by the detaining authority in passing the impugned detention order is contrary to the purpose and spirit behind detaining a person in preventive detention for preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to maintenance of public order. The law makers have not left the concept of the term “acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order” as contemplated under section 8(1)(a) of the aforesaid Act to the whim of the recommending authority and whim and discretion of the detaining authority rather meaning of this term has been given in clause (b) of section 8(3) of the aforesaid Act.
While observing that the impugned detention order and the detailed order (supra) fail to meet the criteria laid down under clause (b) of section 8(3) of the aforesaid Act, Justice Kotwal quashed the same.
