Judiciary-executive collusion exposed as court upholds PSA detention of Pulwama youth
Srinagar: In yet another instance of judicial endorsement of executive overreach in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the High Court has upheld the preventive detention of Pulwama resident Rouf Ahmad Lone under the draconian Public Safety Act, dismissing his mother’s Habeas Corpus petition.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Justice M A Chowdhary upheld Detention Order No. 06/DMP/PSA/25 dated April 30, 2025, passed by the District Magistrate, Pulwama. The petitioner had sought quashing of the order on grounds that it was based on “false and vague allegations,” that material was not supplied, that the detainee was not informed of his right to representation, and that the grounds were stale.
The court noted Lone was earlier arrested in a case filed under UAPA and released on bail on October 17, 2022. He was again subjected to detention on March 10, March 23, and April 24, 2025. The detention record alleged “anti-national activities”.
Rejecting the plea, the court held that judicial review over the detaining authority’s “subjective satisfaction” is limited. The verdict lays bare the deepening collusion between the judiciary and executive in IIOJK, where courts routinely rubber-stamp PSA detentions. Legal experts note that by refusing to scrutinize the DM’s “subjective satisfaction” and accepting police dossiers as gospel, the High Court has abdicated its constitutional duty, reducing habeas corpus to a hollow formality. Rights groups say the judgment exemplifies how the PSA — a law allowing detention for two years without trial — operates as a tool of political repression, with the judiciary acting as an extension of the executive to criminalize dissent in Kashmir.
