Shabir Ahmad Dar vs Union Territory Of J&K Through on 5 February, 2026

Jammu & Kashmir High Court – Srinagar Bench

Shabir Ahmad Dar vs Union Territory Of J&K Through on 5 February, 2026

Author: Rahul Bharti

Bench: Rahul Bharti

 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
                    AT SRINAGAR

                       HCP No. 155/2024

                              Reserved On: 02.02.2026
                              Pronounced On:05.02.2026
                               Whether the operative part or
                              full judgment is pronounced: Full


Shabir Ahmad Dar, Aged 28 years
S/O: Late Ab. Gani Dar
R/O: Dar Mohalla Sunbrari, Tehsil
Kokernag, District Anantnag
through his brother Nisar Ahmad
Dar
S/O: Late Ab. Gani Dar
R/O: Dar Mohallah Sunbrari, Tehsil
                                               ...Petitioner(s)
Kokernag

Through:   Mr. Shabir Ahmad Dar, Advocate


                               Vs.


1. Union Territory of J&K through
Principal Secretary to Govt. Home
Department, Civil Secretariat,
Srinagar/Jammu.


2. District Magistrate, Anantnag


3. Senior Superintendent of Police,
Anantnag


4. Senior Superintendent Central
Jail, Kotbhalwal, Jammu.
                                               ...Respondent(s)

Through:   None
 CORAM:
       HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAHUL BHARTI, JUDGE
                                 JUDGMENT

1. The petitioner-Shabir Ahmad Dar, aged 28 years

acting through his brother-Nisar Ahmad Dar, has

petitioned this Court with present writ petition filed on

15.05.2024 being aggrieved of preventive detention

custody inflicted upon him from the end of respondent

No. 2-District Magistrate, Anantnag, acting under the

Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978.

2. From the date of institution of the writ petition,

the petitioner is thus seeking from this Court

restoration of his lost personal liberty by awaiting in

trust judgment of this Court.

3. The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP),

Anantnag, by virtue of a communication No.

CS/71/2024/791 2-18 dated 17.04.2024, submitted

a dossier to the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate,

Anantnag thereby setting up a case for seeking

preventive detention of the petitioner with an aim to

prevent the petitioner from indulging in alleged

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 2
activities reckoned to be prejudicial to the security of

the State/Union Territory of J&K.

4. On the basis of the dossier so submitted against

the petitioner by the Senior Superintendent of Police

(SSP), Anantnag, the respondent No. 2-District

Magistrate, Anantnag, by purported application of

mind on his part, came to formulate grounds of

detention stating therein that petitioner at the relevant

point of time being working in Darul Ahiya-Aloom,

Bindoo Madrassa, Kokernag and was active on social

media platform via Facebook, WhatsApp, and

Snapchat etc. By reference to FIR No. 219/2022

dated 02.07.2022 registered by the Police Station,

Anantnag for alleged commission of offences under

sections 120-b, 130 IPC read with section 18, 39 of

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the

petitioner was related to be involved along with others

named in said case. From the persons booked by

reference to said FIR, it is said to have been disclosed

by an accused person namely Rouf Ahmad Dar R/O

Bumdoora, Kokernag that for the last two years he

was remaining in close contact with the petitioner and

on that basis the petitioner was also picked up by the

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 3
Police Station, Anantnag for questioning, but due to

insufficient evidence was released on a surety bond.

5. It is by reference to this purported backdrop that

the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Anantnag

came to frame grounds of detention to draw a

subjective satisfaction therefrom that the petitioner’s

alleged state of activities were prejudicial to the

security of the State/Union Territory of J&K and,

therefore passed Order No. 10/DMA/PSA/DET/2024

dated 20.04.2024 thereby ordering the petitioner’s

preventive detention under Section 8 of the Jammu &

Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 directing his arrest

for preventing the petitioner from acting in any

manner prejudicial to the security of the State/Union

Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and, thus, directed

that the petitioner upon detention be lodged in Central

Jail, Kothbhalwal.

6. Respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Anantnag

actually proceeded on a two leaf dossier of the Senior

Superintendent of Police (SSP), Anantnag,

accompanied with copies of FIR, statements and

intelligence reports to order the detention of the

petitioner.

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 4

7. Pursuant to the detention order, the respondent

No. 2-District Magistrate, Anantnag by virtue of his

communication No. DMA/JC/PSA/2024/55-60 dated

20.04.2024 apprised the petitioner about passing of

the detention order against him and his right to make

a representation either to the respondent No. 2-

District Magistrate, Anantnag or to the Government of

Union Territory of J&K and also his right to be heard

in person by the Advisory Board.

8. Following the arrest and detention of the

petitioner taking place on 24.04.2024 when detention

warrant came to be executed by A.S.I Surinder

Kumar No. 404/PL, EXK-021684 of Police Station,

Bijbehara, approval to the preventive detention of the

petitioner came to be accorded by the Government of

Union Territory of J&K acting through its Home

Department by issuance of Government Order No.

Home/PB-V/854-24 dated 29.04.2024.

9. The petitioner’s detention case was referred to

the Advisory Board constituted under the Jammu &

Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 for examination and

opinion which came to be tendered by the Advisory

Board thereby enabling the confirmation of the

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 5
preventive detention of the petitioner with issuance of

a Government Order No. Home/PB-V/1115 of 2024

dated 27.05.2024, but before that could happen the

petitioner came forward with the institution of the

present writ petition on 15.05.2024 assailing his

preventive detention on the basis of the grounds as set

out in “(A) to (K)” in paragraph 5 of the writ petition.

10. In response to the writ petition, counter affidavit

from the end of the respondents came to be submitted

on 06.09.2024 through District Magistrate, Anantnag,

Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid.

11. In their counter affidavit, the respondents, in

particular the respondent No. 2-District Magistrate,

Anantnag, have drawn reliance from the judgments of

the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the cases of

“Senthamilselvi Vs. State of Tamil Nadu and

Another, 2006(5) SCC 670; Gautam Jain Vs. Union

of India and Anr., 2017 (1) JKL Vol. 1(SC), P1;

Criminal Appeal No. 1064 of 2019 arising out of

SLP(Crl) No. 5459/2019 titled Union of India and

Anr. Vs. Dimple Happy Dhakad“.

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 6

12. In addition, the respondents have cited the below

mentioned citations in their counter affidavit which

are reproduced as under:-

                       Haradhan Saha Vs. State of West
                        Bengal (1975) 3 SCC 198;
                       Union of India Vs. Dimply Happy
                        Dhakad AIR, 2009 SC.
                       The Secretary to Government and
                        Anr. Vs. Nabila and Anr. 2015 (12)
                        SCC 127.
                       Senthamilselivi Vs. State of Tamil
                        Nadu and Anr. 2006 (5) SCC 676.
                       Naresh Kumar Goyal Vs. Union of
                        India and Ors. (2005) 8 SCC 276.
                       Mian   Abdul   Qayoom    Vs.   Union
                        Territory of J&K LPA No. 28/2020
                        J&K High Court.
                       Gautam Jain Vs. Union of Idia and
                        Anr. 2017(1) (SC) P-1.

13. After having heard submission from both sides,

this Court is of the opinion that the preventive

detention slapped upon the petitioner is literally on

the dictation of the Senior Superintendent of Police

(SSP), Anantnag, with the respondent No. 2-District

Magistrate, Anantnag, at no point of time ever

exercising or applying his own independent

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 7
application of mind posing a bare ordinary reflection

as to how came the petitioner, as a free citizen of India

just by reference to FIR No. 219/2022 in which also

he did not figure as an accused or an undertrial, be

cited as a reference point for the purpose of justifying

so called apprehension about unmentioned,

unreferred and unstated alleged activities on the part

of the petitioner perceived and assumed to be

prejudicial to the security of the State.

14. To put it simply, the petitioner has been

subjected to preventive detention custody just by a

blank reference on the part of the Senior

Superintendent of Police (SSP), followed by equally

bland application of mind on the part of the

respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Anantnag.

15. This Court has no hesitation in observing that

the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, viz-a-

viz the petitioner has been invoked by non-

seriousness of standard with which even a motorist is

not subjected to a routine traffic challan.

16. In view of the aforesaid, the preventive detention

custody of the petitioner for whatsoever short

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 8
remainder period the same is meant to be is held to be

illegal right from its inception and, therefore, the

preventive detention order No. 10/DMA/ PSA/

DET/2024 dated 20.04.2024 passed by the

respondent No. 2-District Magistrate, Anantnag, read

with the consequent approval/confirmation order by

the Government of Union Territory of J&K, is hereby

quashed.

17. The Senior Superintendent of the concerned Jail

detaining the petitioner is directed to release the

petitioner forthwith, if not required in any other case.

(RAHUL BHARTI)
JUDGE

SRINAGAR:

05.02.2026
“Mir Arif”

(I) Whether the judgment is reserved? Yes/No.

(II) Whether the judgment is reportable? Yes/No.

HCP No. 155/2024 Page No. 9