On September 16, 2019, Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah and many other prominent leaders were detained under the State’s Public Safety Act (PSA).
About Public Safety Act
The Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 is a preventive detention law, under which a person is taken into custody to prevent him or her from acting in any manner that is prejudicial to the security of the state or the maintenance of the public order.
It is very similar to the National Security Act that is used by other state governments for preventive detention.
It comes into force by an administrative order passed either by Divisional Commissioner or the District Magistrate, not by a detention order by police, based on specific allegations or for specific violation of laws.
The PSA allows for detention of a person without a formal charge and without trial. It can be slapped on a person already in police custody; on someone immediately after being granted bail by a court; or even on a person acquitted by the court.
Usually when a person is arrested under ordinary law, they have the right to legal representation and bail application before a criminal court and can challenge the arrest. But, when a person is arrested under PSA, they do not have these rights before the Advisory Board unless sufficient grounds can be established that the detention is illegal.
Preventive Detention Laws Made by the Parliament
Preventive Detention Act, 1950. Expired in 1969.
Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), 1971. Repealed in 1978.
Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), 1974.
National Security Act (NSA), 1980.
Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance ofSupplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980.
The only way this administrative preventive detention order can be challenged is through a habeas corpus petition filed by relatives of the detained person.
