Srinagar, 1 January 2025 – The High Court of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh has annulled the Public Safety Act (PSA) detention of Zahoor Ahmed Bhat, the brother of slain separatist leader Maqbool Bhat, directing his immediate release.
Bhat, from Mirpora, Thregam in Kupwara district, had been detained under the PSA since 2022, and was held at Karnal Jail, Haryana.
His detention came under scrutiny after his lawyer, Advocate Bashir Ahmad Tak, argued that the grounds for his imprisonment were arbitrary and lacking in substance.
Tak asserted that the allegations against Bhat were fabricated, with no factual basis linking them to him. “The entire material forming the basis of the detention order was not provided to my client, rendering his representation ineffective,” Tak stated, claiming that Bhat’s rights to fair legal representation were violated.
While the authorities maintained that Bhat's actions were a threat to state security, pointing to multiple FIRs implicating him in serious offences, the court found the arguments insufficient.
Justice Sanjay Dhar, after reviewing the case, determined that Bhat’s detention did not meet the legal standards set under the PSA and noted significant breaches of procedural safeguards.
“The detention fails to meet the legal standards required under the PSA, and the procedural safeguards appear to have been violated,” Justice Dhar observed.
Unless Bhat is implicated in any other pending cases, the High Court ruled that he should be released immediately.