"No communal disharmony", J&K&L High Court quashes detention order of man accused of bovine smuggling
Court noted that the authorities failed to show that detainee Yaqoob Hussain’s actions had caused any communal disharmony justifying his preventive detention.
High Court was told that allegations levelled against Hussain in cases under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act did not amount to activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed the detention order passed by District Magistrate, Kathua against one Yaqoob Hussain who was found continuously and repeatedly involved in criminal activities of bovine smuggling.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Kathua had found Hussain to be continuously and repeatedly involved in criminal activities of bovine smuggling, being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and as such, ordered him to be detained under preventive detention keeping in view his involvement in multiple FIRs registered against him in this regard.
High Court was told that upon detaining Hussain in terms of the detention order, the grounds of detention, detention warrants and all other relevant documents, comprising of 50 leaves were furnished to him and the grounds, as well as the order of detention were read over to him in Dogri/Urdu language, which he fully understood, besides informing him that he can make a representation against his detention, which representation was never made. It was further noted that on 26.03.2025, the Government approved the detention order whereas the same came to be confirmed by the Government on 09.05.2025. It was also stated that in the process of detaining the petitioner under preventive law, all statutory provisions came to be complied with and constitutional safeguards adhered to.
Hussain argued before the High Court that the impugned order admittedly had been passed by the Detaining Authority owing to the alleged involvement in the FIRs, referred in the grounds of detention, pertaining to the offences registered under and in terms of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and that by no sense of imagination, the commission of the said alleged offences by him constituted an activity pre-judicial to the maintenance of the public order and thus there was no occasion and reason for the Detaining Authority to detain him under Preventive Detention Act.
High Court noticed from the detention record, as also the reply affidavit filed by the respondents to the petition that it is nowhere spelt out or indicated that on account of the commission of offences by the petitioner under the Act of 1960, any incident of communal disharmony got resulted in the area and in the process same became an eminent threat to the maintenance of public order thus necessitating the preventive detention of the petitioner in this regard.
It accordingly allowed the instant petition and quashed the order passed under and in terms of the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 with a direction to the respondents, including the concerned jail authority to release the petitioner from preventive detention unless is required in any case.
Case Title: Yaqoob Hussain V/s UT of J&K