The single bench of Justice Rahul Bharti of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court nullified the preventative detention of a 22-year-old individual, and granted him a compensation of Rs 2 lakh.

The bench observed, “Release from illegal custody no doubt restores the fundamental right to personal liberty to an aggrieved person but it doesn’t earn him any succor for the injury received by him and to his person and for that the only remedy and relief that can be extended by a constitutional court is a compensation under public law remedy which in the present case the petitioner is entitled to have from this court and that is why this Court is awarding compensation of an amount of Rs 2 lakh in favour of the petitioner payable by the respondents.”

The accused petitioner faced allegations of providing logistical support to terrorist operations in the Rajouri-Pulwama region and sharing information regarding the movements of security forces with Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorist operatives in the area.

Subsequently, the petitioner’s father petitioned the High Court, claiming his son’s detention was unlawful. Upon review, the High Court deemed the petitioner’s preventive detention as unauthorized, citing an amendment to the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, which excluded “security of the State” as a valid reason for such detention.

The High Court criticized the district magistrate for frivolously invoking provisions of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, implying it was done casually and without due consideration.