The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has set aside the preventive detention order against Advocate Miyan Muzaffar under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978, citing vague and insufficient grounds.

The order alleged that Muzaffar propagated secessionist ideologies, but the court found the claims lacking substantive material to justify his detention.

Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi, delivering the judgment, observed:

“The detaining authority has not applied its mind to the relevant circumstances. The grounds for detention are vague, illusive, and lack a live and proximate link between any past conduct of the detenue and the need for detention.”

Muzaffar was arrested on the night of July 13-14, 2024, with his family allegedly not informed of the reasons for his detention. Authorities later accused him of being influenced by the alleged secessionist leanings of his uncle, Mian Abdul Qayoom, a senior lawyer and former president of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, who is currently in custody for alleged involvement in the 2020 murder of Advocate Babar Qadri. The authorities also claimed Muzaffar participated in anti-national activities, such as organizing seminars with separatist leaders, to propagate secessionist ideologies.

Muzaffar’s wife challenged the detention order in the High Court, arguing that the grounds for detention were baseless and violated constitutional protections. The court criticized the authorities for failing to provide Muzaffar or his family with sufficient information to contest the detention effectively.

“The detaining authority is obligated to furnish all pertinent and proximate facts and material relied upon. In this case, the relevant material was not supplied, rendering the opportunity to make an effective representation futile,” the court held.

Highlighting the lack of clarity and the extraneous nature of the material used to justify the detention, the court emphasized that Muzaffar’s professional background and familial relationship with Qayoom were insufficient grounds for preventive action.

Concluding its observations, the court quashed the detention order, directing that Muzaffar be released immediately.

Cause Title: Miyan Muzaffar v. UT of Jammu and Kashmir