ruling the petitioner’s constitutional rights under Articles 22(5) & 22(2) were violated due to non-supply of documents
Date:- 18-10-2025
Case Details
Case Number: HCP No. 51/2025
Court: High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu
Date of Judgment: October 17, 2025
Presiding Judge: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul
Advocate for Petitioner: Mr. Sayed Wakar Shah
Advocate for Respondents: Mr. Sumeet Bhatia, GA
The petitioner, Farooq Ahmed, challenged his preventive detention ordered by the District Magistrate, Udhampur, under the Public Safety Act. The High Court quashed the detention order, agreeing with the petitioner’s arguments that the authorities failed to follow mandatory constitutional and procedural safeguards. Key reasons included the failure to provide all relevant documents and their translations, not informing the family, and a critical delay in communicating the rejection of the petitioner’s representation against his detention.
Grounds taken by Petioner for challanging the Detention Order
The court found the detention order unsustainable based on the following grounds raised by the petitioner:
1. Failure to Provide Documents for Effective Representation:- The petitioner was not provided copies of the material referred to in the grounds of detention, such as witness statements and seizure memos. This failure prevented him from making an effective representation against his detention, a fundamental right under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India.
2. Failure to Inform Family Members:- The family members of the petitioner were never informed about his detention, which is a breach of procedural safeguards.
3. Violation of Constitutional Safeguards:- The detention violated the constitutional protections guaranteed under Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India, which mandates that a detained person be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.
4. Non-Referral to the Advisory Board:- The petitioner was never referred to the Advisory Board, a statutory requirement under the detention law, before the order was confirmed.
5. Withholding of Incriminating Material:- The authorities did not supply the petitioner with copies of recovery memos, statements recorded under Section 161 of the Cr.P.C., and other incriminating material used to base the detention order.
6. Denial of Translated Documents:- A critical violation was that the petitioner, who only understands Kashmiri/Gojri, was not supplied with the translated version of the documents that were in English. This directly violated his fundamental right under Article 22(5) of the Constitution to be informed of the grounds of detention in a language he understands.
7. Failure to Communicate Decision on Representation:- The petitioner filed a representation seeking the withdrawal of the detention order, but the rejection of this representation was not communicated to him in a timely manner. The court relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Sarabjeet Singh Mokha vs. District Magistrate that failure to communicate the decision on a representation vitiates the detention order.
The Court’s Decision and Legal Reasoning
The Hon’ble Court, after hearing both parties, upheld the petitioner’s contentions. It emphasized that preventive detention cannot be issued lightly and must strictly adhere to procedural justice. The court highlighted that:- Merely being in jail or the likelihood of getting bail is not a sufficient ground for preventive detention. The right to make a representation is hollow if the detenu is not provided with all materials in a comprehensible language. The failure to communicate the decision on the petitioner’s representation was, in itself, a sufficient ground to invalidate the detention.
This article cover the detention order quashed by jammu high court for not complying the legal procedure laid down in public safety act. further you can read here important judgements and legal principles laid down by Hon’ble supreme court of India, this article is posted by Advocate Shivaji Rathore (J&K high court jammu) for more important legal topics stay connected with us, on tacit legal we post on YouTube channel also named as Tacit Legal helpful for Law students newely enrolled Advocate in India and other states, Follow us on Instagram also, Read our articles on important Questions of Law. #tacitlegal visit my website Tacit Legal dot in search on google, this website is made from Hostinger and wordpress follow our latest updates for legal news follow us on YouTube also for young lawyers law students helpful for Advocates, this blog is written by Advocate Shivaji Rathore practicing in Jammu and Kashmir high court and district court at Jammu. The website Tacit Legal is available on Google created with Hostinger and wordpress keep in touch and read our daily articles and reporting for law students and advocates as we provide you important legal information on Tacit Legal.in
Author: Advocate Shivaji Rathore
(Founder – Tacit Legal | tacitlegal.in
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