[Needs reframing, not framed like a news report] After A Detention Order Ends Either By Revocation or Expiry, For A Subsequent Order There Must Be Fresh Facts: Jammu & Kashmir And Ladakh High Court
The High Court recently declared the impugned detention order as unsustainable in law.
;A single judge bench of Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul of Jammu & Kashmir And Ladakh High Court recently disposed of a petition filed by one Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh (herein referred as detenu) and quashed the impugned detention order passed by District Magistrate of Budgam.
The court was hearing the plea filed by detenu against the earlier order. He was previously detained in 2019, and after completing his term, he was released in 2021. On 20.06.22 he was apprehended by police and was detained under preventative detention in accordance with the impugned order of detention based on previous FIRs.
The learned counsel for petitioner that the he is not implicated in any new FIR or in any new prejudicial activity, and so the challenged detention decision is in violation of Article 22(5) of the Indian Constitution and should be quashed. Further it was also submitted that that the set of allegations and grounds cited for detention had previously been used by the detaining authority in an earlier detention order and the grounds of custody are a duplicate of the dossier, which unambiguously reveals and demonstrates the detaining authority's lack of application of mind.
The respondents requested to dismiss the petition and said that the detention order was issued based on subjective satisfaction by the detaining authority, and the detention order is in conformity with the law, with no breach or infringement of rights granted by the Indian Constitution.
By hearing both the sides, court said that detenu was detained under preventive detention by dated 22.05.2019 and after its expiry he was released, further examination of the impugned detention order and the earlier detention order would clearly indicate that the detaining authority reproduced the earlier detention order word by word, indicating absolute lack of application of mind on the part of the detaining authority. Such a legal practise is illegal and consequently invalidates the disputed detention order.
Furthermore the court also observed that:
“When the period of detention expires, the grounds of said detention order are not to be taken into consideration either as a whole or in part even along with the fresh grounds of detention in order to pass a fresh detention order and, if such previous grounds of detention are taken into consideration while passing a fresh detention order, the order of detention will be vitiated.”
The bench while referring to some judgments passed by the apex court declared the impugned detention order unsustainable in law on the ground presented before this court and accordingly quashed the detention order dated 27.06.2022 passed by District Magistrate, Budgam and directed the respondents to release the detenu.
Cause Title – Zahoor Ahmad Sheikh vs. State of J&K and another.