Jammu & Kashmir High Court Slams UT Administration over Delay in Detainee’s Release

Even after the court ruled on December 30, 2023, to set aside petitioner Muneeb Rasool Shenwari's preventative detention, the man stayed behind bars until the court intervened to ensure his release.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): In a scathing indictment of the Union Territory (UT) administration, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has denounced the unreasonable delay in releasing a detenu whose preventive detention order was invalidated by the court in December 2023.

The case, brought forth by petitioner Muneeb Rasool Shenwari, underscored the egregious loss of 79 days of Shenwari’s life due to his unjust detainment. Despite the court’s ruling on December 30, 2023, quashing Shenwari’s preventive detention, he remained incarcerated until his release was secured through the court’s intervention.

In resolving a contempt petition filed by Shenwari, pressing for the execution of his release order, Justice Rahul Bharti, with the District Magistrate and SSP Baramulla personally present as per previous directives, delivered scathing remarks.

"This court has made known to the two offices the serious concern of this court about the loss of 79 days of his life by the petitioner by remaining under preventive custody without any legal basis only to earn his release upon the intervention of this court,” remarked Justice Bharti.

Expressing grave concern about the loss of personal liberty suffered by Shenwari, the bench emphasized that the Jammu and Kashmir government must ensure 'reasonable dispatch' in releasing detainees whose preventive detention is deemed illegal.

Justice Bharti stressed that such detainees should be released without unwarranted delay and cautioned, "This court hopes that such a scenario does not repeat again and whenever the preventive detention of a detainee gets quashed, the Government of UT of Jammu and Kashmir acts with reasonable dispatch to ensure that the detenu person is released from custody without unwarranted loss of time."

While the court ordered Shenwari’s release in line with its earlier directive, it also clarified that this order does not prevent him from pursuing legal action against officials responsible for his unlawful detention.