The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has strongly criticized the detention of an Anantnag resident, Imtiyaz Ahmad Ganie, under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978, calling it a "shameless" attempt to justify his detention based on mistaken identity. Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi quashed the detention order issued by the District Magistrate, Anantnag, on April 20, 2024, and ordered Ganie's immediate release.
The court found that the grounds for Ganie's detention were based on information related to another individual with a similar name. The detention order stated that "Among other OGWs and suspected persons Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani S/O Late Ama Wani R/O Cheer Pora Uttersoo Shangus Anantnag was also apprehended by Police Anantnag, in the investigation of instant case, who was questioned thoroughly and tactfully…". This clearly indicated that the authorities had confused Ganie with Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani.
Justice Kazmi asserted that there was no justification for the mistaken identity. The court stated that the "detaining authority is shamelessly trying support for the issuance of the impugned order from material which does not speak of the involvement of the detenue in a case which has formed basis for issuance of the impugned order, as such the foundation on the basis whereof the detenue has been implicated and detained under preventive detention has collapsed by default".
The High Court emphasized the importance of the detaining authority applying its mind to the case. The court noted that Ganie was not involved in any criminal case that would warrant his detention. The court found the non-application of mind by the detaining authority apparent on the record, making the detention unsustainable in the eyes of the law.
The court referred to previous Supreme Court decisions, including Ameena Begum vs. State of Telangana (2023), which established that a detention order cannot stand if it results from a "non-application of mind". It also cited Jai Singh and Ors. Vs State of Jammu and Kashmir (1985), where the Supreme Court cautioned against casually and routinely "trifling with the liberty of a subject".
The case highlights concerns about the application of the Public Safety Act in Jammu and Kashmir, with courts emphasizing the need for due diligence and proper application of mind when detaining individuals under preventive detention laws. In a similar case, the High Court recently quashed another PSA detention on the grounds of "mistakenly detained". In that case, the court was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Waseem Ahmad Ganie, who was detained in April 2024 following an order by the District Magistrate, Anantnag. It was revealed that the FIR cited by authorities pertained to one Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani, not the petitioner, who shared a similar name.
