IIOJK court upholds PSA detention despite bail, legal experts term it mockery of justice
Srinagar: In yet another example of the misuse of draconian laws in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the High Court of the occupied territory has upheld the preventive detention of a Tral youth under the draconian Public Safety Act, ruling that grant of bail does not bar authorities from jailing a person “preventively”.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Justice Shahzad Azeem dismissed the habeas corpus petition of 25-year-old Sakib Akbar Waza of Gulshanpora, Tral, challenging the detention order passed by District Magistrate Pulwama on May 1, 2025. Waza is presently lodged in District Jail, Kathua. The petitioner had complained that the detaining authority mechanically relied on the police dossier without independent application of mind. It was also contended that the detention order, grounds and supporting material were not supplied, and that the grounds were neither explained nor provided in Urdu or Kashmiri.
Another key ground was that Waza had already been granted bail in the FIRs cited as basis for the PSA. Dismissing the plea, the court held that preventive detention is “precautionary” and “qualitatively different” from punitive imprisonment. It said an order can be passed before, during or after prosecution, even after acquittal. The court added that the proceedings provided a “live and proximate link” to justify the subjective satisfaction of the District Magistrate.
Legal observers said the judgment exposes how PSA is being used to keep Kashmiri youth in jail indefinitely despite courts granting them bail. “This is mockery of justice. When bail is granted by criminal courts, the same person is immediately booked under PSA on the same allegations,” a Srinagar-based lawyer said. Rights groups maintain that thousands of Kashmiris remain detained under PSA, with courts routinely deferring to the “subjective satisfaction” of district magistrates, making constitutional safeguards meaningless in IIOJK.
