Detained for Another’s Crime: HC Frees Innocent Man, Raps Authorities for ‘Shameless’ Defence

Srinagar: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed the preventive detention of a man who was jailed under the Public Safety Act (PSA) after being mistaken for someone else with a similar name, Bar & Bench reported.

Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, while hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by the detenue, Imtiyaz Ahmad Ganie, criticised the detaining authority for “shamelessly” defending the blunder, holding that the order reflected a clear non-application of mind.

“The vitiating fact appearing in the grounds of detention is worth serious notice, as admittedly the detenue is not involved in a criminal case… it is someone else with a similar name. The foundation on the basis whereof the detenue has been implicated and detained under preventive detention has collapsed by default,” the Court observed in its September 3 ruling.

Ganie had been placed under preventive detention in April 2024 by the District Magistrate, Anantnag, citing an FIR registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Explosives Act. Authorities argued his detention was necessary to maintain order during the 2024 General Elections.

However, upon scrutiny of records, the High Court found that the FIR in question pertained not to Ganie, but to one Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani. The Court said such a lapse rendered the detention illegal and unsustainable.

Relying on Supreme Court precedents including Ameena Begum v. State of Telangana (2023) and Jai Singh v. State of J&K, the Bench underscored that preventive detention orders passed in a routine or mechanical manner violate the right to personal liberty.

The Court allowed Ganie’s petition and directed his immediate release from Kot Bhalwal Jail, Jammu.

Advocate Sheikh Younis appeared for the petitioner, while Government Advocate Ilyas Nazir represented the authorities, the report said.