Bail granted cannot be grounds to invoke preventive detention law, says Jammu and Kashmir HC

An accused person having been granted bail in criminal cases cannot be grounds to invoke a preventive detention law against him, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has said.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice MA Choudhary made the remarks on Thursday as it quashed the detention of former Srinagar Municipal Corporation corporator Aqib Ahmad Renzu under the Public Safety Act.

The Public Safety Act is a preventive detention law under which persons can be taken into custody to prevent them from acting against “the security of the state or the maintenance of the public order” in the Union territory.

Renzu, who was facing multiple criminal charges, was granted bail in seven first information reports between 2013 and 2023.

However, he was detained under the Public Safety Act in October last year. This came a week after he was arrested in a sexual harassment case, Bar and Bench reported. The detaining authorities claimed that his detention was necessary to prevent him from engaging in activities detrimental to public order.

Subsequently, the former corporator filed a petition in the court to quash his preventive detention.

On Thursday, the High Court noted that the fact that Renzu was granted bail in the criminal cases did not constitute grounds to invoke the Public Safety...

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