At a time when the arrest of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA under the controversial Public Safety Act in Jammu and Kashmir has reignited the debate over the arbitrary use of the law in the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has come down hard on the Anantnag administration after it wrongly booked a man under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
The court said it was “shameless” on the part of officials to detain the wrong person and ordered his immediate release.
The case involves Imtiyaz Ahmad Ganie, son of Abdul Majeed Ganie. He was arrested by Anantnag police in April 2024 and later sent to Central Jail, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu. Authorities claimed that he was working for a militant group and that his activities were harmful to the security of the Union Territory. But when the court reviewed the detention papers, it found that the records actually referred to another man, Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani of Uttersoo, Anantnag, not Ganie. This meant that the PSA order had been passed due to mistaken identity.
Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, who gave the judgment, said there was “absolutely no justification” for detaining Ganie. She added that preventive detention is a serious step and must follow the strictest safeguards. In this case, she said, the entire basis of detention “collapsed by default” because the papers did not show Ganie’s involvement in any anti-national activity.
The court also noted that the District Magistrate had failed to apply his mind before approving the order.
“Slapping the PSA on a wrong person shows non-application of mind,” Justice Kazmi said, while pointing out that the authorities were trying to justify the order with evidence that had nothing to do with Ganie.
Calling it a clear miscarriage of justice, the High Court quashed the PSA order and directed Ganie’s immediate release from jail.
The law was enacted in 1978 against timber smuggling. However, governments over the years have used it against the opposition, opponents, separatists, and journalists. Successive governments, especially the National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP), have failed to come good on the pledge to abolish the law.