Jammu and Kashmir High Court restores personal liberty to petitioner citing procedural unfairness in detention dossier.
In a significant judgment, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, presided over by Justice Rahul Bharti, has quashed a preventive detention order against Makhan Din due to serious procedural lapses. The order, initially issued under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 (PIT NDPS Act), was deemed unsustainable after the court found omissions in the detention dossier that violated principles of procedural fairness.
The petitioner, Makhan Din, was detained on July 19, 2025, following a dossier prepared by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Udhampur. The dossier outlined Din's alleged involvement in activities warranting preventive detention under the PIT NDPS Act. However, it failed to disclose a critical fact: the rejection of a bail cancellation application filed by the prosecution on February 3, 2025, which was dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge on April 5, 2025.
The court noted that the omission of this fact in the dossier undermined the detention process. Justice Bharti emphasized that while the bail cancellation had failed, the petitioner was simultaneously subjected to preventive detention, creating a contradiction that could not be reconciled without breaching procedural fairness.
The court further observed that the SSP’s failure to include the unsuccessful bail cancellation attempt in the dossier was a deliberate oversight, pointing to a lack of full disclosure to the Divisional Commissioner, who ordered the detention. This lack of disclosure led to a decision based on incomplete information, thereby vitiating the grounds for detention.
In light of these findings, the court quashed the detention order No. PITNDPS 46 of 2025 and its subsequent confirmation, directing the immediate release of Makhan Din from custody. The judgment underscores the importance of procedural fairness and complete transparency in the preparation of dossiers for preventive detention cases.
Bottom line:-
Preventive detention under the PIT NDPS Act, 1988 cannot be sustained if there are serious procedural lapses, such as failure to disclose relevant facts, including rejection of bail cancellation, in the dossier prepared for detention.
Statutory provision(s):
- Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, Section 3
- Constitution of India, 1950, Article 21
