ABDUL LATIEF Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE to Order No. DMR/PSA/OF 2010/28 dated 30.10.2010, whereby District Magistrate, Ramban respondent No. 2 herein, has ordered preventive detention of Shri Abdul Latief son of Ghulam Mohd Malik resident of Shagan Tehsil and District Ramban (hereinafter referred to as detenue), is to succeed for the following reasons:

(2.) The Constitutional and Statutory safeguards, guaranteed to a person detained under preventive detention law, are meaningless unless and until the detenue is made aware of and furnished all the material that weighed with the Detaining Authority while making detention order. The detention record reveals that none of the documents referred to in the detention order was ever supplied to the detenue. The endorsement on the reverse of the detention order made by the Executing Officer - SI Rajesh Thappa, PID No. BXJ/045661 of P/S Banihal, at the time of execution of Detention Order, does not make a reference to the documents in question and does not record that such documents were supplied to detenue at the time of execution of detention order or immediately thereafter. The grounds of detention make reference to case - FIR No. 122/2010 under section 13/18/19/20/21, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and 3/6 Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act P/S Banihal, to have been registered against detenue. It appears that the said case has weighed with respondent No. 2 at the time detention order in question was made. Copies of First Information Report, statements recorded under section 161 Cr.P.C. and other material collected in connection with investigation of aforesaid case have not been furnished to detenue. It is pertinent to point out that the respondent No. 2, in grounds of detention after detailing the background in which aforesaid case was registered against detenue, proceeds to opine 'In the light of above grounds which are based on the dossier submitted by the Superintendent of Police Ramban and in view of the prevailing situation in the District Ramban and also your persistent lot of supporting/working in the cause of militants, you have considered a potential threat to the security of the State'. The material, mentioned above, thus assumes significance in the facts and circumstances of the case. The detention record does not reveal that copies of FIR or material collected during investigation of the aforementioned case was at the time of execution of detention warrant or immediately thereafter made available to detenue to enable him to exercise his Constitutional and Statutory rights guaranteed under Article 22(5), Constitution of India and Section 13, J&K Public Safety Act, 1978. The Constitutional and Statutory Safeguards are meaningless unless and until the material on which the detention order is based is supplied to detenue. It is only after the detenue has all said material available that the detenue can make an effort to convince the Detaining Authority and thereafter the Government that their apprehensions as regards activities of the detenue are baseless and misplaced. If the detenue is not supplied the material on which the detention order is based, the detenue would not be in a position to make an effective representation against his detention. The failure on the part of Detaining Authority to supply the material relied at the time of making detention order, renders detention illegal and unsustainable. It is not necessary to burden this judgment with the detailed reference to the case law on the subject. A reference to the reported cases, mentioned hereinafter, would suffice. The principle of law, finds expression in Dhannajoy Dass versus District Magistrate : AIR 1982 SC 1315; Sofia Ghulam Mohammad Bam versus State of Maharashtra and Others : AIR 1999 SC 3051; Union of India versus Ranu Bhandari, : 2008 Cri L. J. 4567; Syed Aasiya Indrabi versus State of Jammu and Kashmir and Others, 2009 (I) S.L.J 219; and Tahir Haris versus State and Others : AIR 2009 SC 2184.

(3.) VIEWED thus, the petition is allowed and detention order No. DMR/PSA/OF 2010/28 dated 30.10.2010, passed by the District Magistrate, Ramban respondent No. 2, directing detention of Shri Abdul Latief son of Ghulam Mohd Malik resident of Shagan Tehsil and District Ramban, quashed.