‘Liberty must yield to nation’s security’: J&K High Court upholds Doda youth’s preventive detention

In a forcefully worded judgment reaffirming the primacy of national security over personal liberty, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has upheld the preventive detention of a 27-year-old youth from Doda district under the Public Safety Act (PSA), observing that “where individual liberty comes into conflict with the security of the state, it must give way to the larger interest of the nation.”

Justice M A Chowdhary, dismissing a habeas corpus petition filed by the detainee’s brother, ruled that the detention order against Rehmatullah, a resident of Desa Bhata in Doda, was legally sound and backed by a history of “anti-national” activities and ongoing criminal involvement.

Rehmatullah, who was earlier detained under PSA in 2016, had challenged the latest detention order dated November 9, 2024, on the grounds that it was based on outdated or vague FIRs and that his representation to the authorities had been ignored.

However, government counsel Eishaan Dadhichi countered that the representation was duly examined and found to lack merit. He clarified that the detention was based not only on past FIRs but on four fresh cases filed between 2021 and 2024 that pointed to Rehmatullah’s continued engagement in subversive activities.

Justice Chowdhary concurred, observing that the detention was grounded in “reasonable anticipation” and based on material that showed the detainee to be an overground worker (OGW) and “militant sympathizer,” posing a “serious threat to the security scenario of the UT of J&K, particularly, District Doda.”

“The detaining authority applied its mind after due consideration and arrived at the subjective satisfaction that the detenu’s actions were prejudicial to the interest of the state,” the court held.

Invoking the doctrine of preventive detention, the court noted that the power to detain without trial is “a precautionary one” and not contingent on the conclusion of a prosecution. “Liberty of an individual has to be curtailed, within reasonable bounds, for the good of society at large,” Justice Chowdhary said.

He added, “In a democracy governed by the rule of law, such a drastic power must be strictly construed. However, where it clashes with the security of the State or public order, individual liberty must give way to national interest.”