'Illegal, Unsustainable': J&K HC Quashes Scribe Asif Sultan's Detention Order

Sultan was detained under PSA in April 2022.

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday, 11 December, quashed the detention of journalist Asif Sultan under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

(Photo: X/@AiylaAras)

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday, 11 December, quashed the detention of journalist Asif Sultan under the Public Safety Act (PSA), reported LiveLaw.

Details: Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, while pronouncing the judgment observed that the Sultan's detention was "illegal and unsustainable" as he was never supplied with the First Information Reports (relevant to the detention) and other materials.

"It needs no emphasis, that detenu cannot be expected to make a meaningful exercise of his Constitutional and Statutory rights guaranteed under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India and Section 13 of the J&K Public Safety Act, 1978, unless and until the material on which detention order is based, is supplied to him," the order noted.

"In the present case, the procedural requirements, as discussed above, have not been followed and complied by the respondents in letter and spirit and resultantly, the impugned detention needs to be quashed," the order added.

Sultan, booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2018 for allegedly working for a banned militant group, was granted bail in April 2022. However, days after his bail, he was detained under PSA.