Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh ruled out that a district magistrate cannot pass detention order based on police dossier.
The court held that the detaining authority needs to arrive at subject satisfaction before passing a detention order.
The court of Justice Puneet Gupta while quashing the detention order passed by district magistrate Shopian against Sartaj Ahmad Naik noted that the record reveals that the dossier provided by the SSP Shopian and the grounds of detention (styled as dossier with the detention order) are in fact on the same lines.
Justice Gupta observed that there appears to be prima facie no independent satisfaction recorded by the District Magistrate while passing the detention order.
“For all practical purposes the grounds of detention are reproduction of the dossier provided by the police to the District Magistrate,” court said.
It was noted in the record that apparently, the manner in which the grounds of detention have been formulated by the detaining authority does not make out any independent subjective satisfaction recorded by the District Magistrate in the present petition and therefore needs to be struck down.
Justice Gupta also recorded that the assertion made by the petitioner that he made representation to the District Magistrate, Shopian through his brother on 12 July, 2022 but not consider remains uncontroverted in the reply filed by the respondents.
He said that it requires no reiteration that the representation, if made by the petitioner against the detention order, the authorities concerned are obliged to consider the same and pass the orders as they deem necessary.
“The non-consideration of the representation made by the petitioner is indeed in violation of the constitutional guarantee provided to the petitioner. The detention order indeed suffers from illegality on the aforesaid count,” Justice Gupta held.
The court said in view of the above, this Court is of the considered view that the order of detention bearing 144/DMS/PSA/2022 dated 28 June, 2022, passed by the distr Magistrate Shopian is not sustainable in the eyes of law.
“Accordingly, the same is quashed. The petitioner is directed to be released from the custody provided if he is not required in any other case,” court said.
