Late in the evening of Friday, November 25, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Friday quashed the orders of PSA detention of human rights activist, Khurram Parvez saying that authorities have abused their powers to detain him.
“The detention of the detenue is not only illegal but the detaining authority has abused its powers in ordering his detention,” observed the court of Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar.
“Perusal of the grounds of detention, FIRs and also the record produced by the petitioner counsel would reveal that in none of the FIRs, the detenue has been named as accused,” the Court said while quashing his PSA detention order and subsequently ordered his release from preventive detention. The court observed that personal liberty of an individual is his birth right guaranteed by article 21 of constitution of India. “This Article prescribes that no person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty without following the procedure established under law,” it added.
“Though it is duty of the state and its authorities to maintain peace in the society but it is equally their responsibility to ensure that laws, which they invoke to achieve this purpose are followed and complied with honestly. It is also one of the fundamental duty of paramount importance for the courts of the law to ensure that laws of the land are implemented in right earnest”.
The court held that nothing was brought to the notice of the court either in the grounds of detention or in reply affidavit that in the investigation of the FIRs involvement of detenu surfaced as accused.
Speaking to Sabrangindia, wife of journalist Khurram Pervez, Sameena Parvez expressed great relief at the order of the court. “The certified copy of the order will take a few days and then it will have to be reached to him in the Jammu jail where he has been detained,” she added. The family had received support from some of the wider human rights fraternity in this period.
The order came a day after the bench heard Khurram’ s counsel Pervez Imroz and Additional Advocate General, Muhammad Iqbal Dar, representing the state.
On September 21, Khurram was booked under Public Safety Act after District Magistrate Srinagar issued an order in this regard. While Khurram was lodged in Kotbalwal jail in Jammu, his detention evoked widespread criticism and condemnation. He had been detained from September 17, 2016 while on a visit to an international human rights conference.
On the 58th day of his detention, the Jammu & Kashmir Civil Society Coalition had released a dossier on him and his contribution to human rights and journalism.
Pleading that Khurram was detained on false and frivolous charges, Advocate Imroz submitted that he is a renowned human rights activist and has been doing commendable work.
“It is non application of the mind to book Khurram under PSA. The human rights activist is involved none of the FIRs cited by the government and his name finds mention nowhere,” Imroz had argued.
“The grounds of detention are not only vague, irrelevant, ambiguous and non-existent but also lack material particulars regarding time and date which renders the same liable to be set aside,” Imroz submitted, adding the government has observed in breach the safeguards enshrined in Article 21 and 22(5) of the Constitution of India.
He further pleaded that the “grounds of detention have not been read over or explained to the detainee in the language he understands neither was he given transplanted copies of the grounds of detention and dossier to enable him to file representation against the order of detention”.
Advocate Dar, while defending the government, submitted that: “None of the rights of detainee has been infringed by placing him under preventive detention with the sole object to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”.
The counsel pleaded that police framed a dossier on the basis of record showing the detainee is an “anti-social element known for his anti-national activities, which are prejudicial to the activities of the maintenance of public order”.
“The detainee by his anti-social and anti-national activities has achieved top position in separatist camps under a hidden cover of being human rights activist. He has been deeply involved in the ongoing unrest in Kashmir by instigating and motivating the elements to resort to the activities prejudicial to the security of the state/maintenance of public order,” Dar pleaded.
“The detainee has extensive history of affiliation with separatist organizations who advocate the session of JK State from Union of India and for achieving the goal the detainee has been found resorting to unlawful activities since long,” he added
Khurram’s detention had evoked criticism at international level. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances, Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances and the International Commission of Jurists had called for immediate release of Khurram.