Srinagar: Failure on part of authorities to inform a detainee of his right to make a representation against the order of detention renders the order invalid, Jammu and Kashmir High Court has said.
A bench of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur made the observation while quashing detention order under Public Safety Act against Aijaz Ahmad Dar, a resident of Pulwama district.
Dar had challenged the detention primarily on the ground that the procedural safeguards as provided in terms of the Act of 1978 and the various pronouncements of the Apex Court had not been complied with at the time of ordering the detention of the detainee.
“Testing the facts of the present case on the touchstone of the law, it can be seen that (Dar) had never been informed of his right to make a representation against the order of detention before the detaining authority. If that be the position, then such a failure would make the order of detention invalid,” the court said and quashed detention order (No.01/DMP/PSA/18 dated 10.04.2018) passed by the District Magistrate, Pulwama.
“The respondents are directed to release (Dar) forthwith, if not required in any other case,” the court added.
