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Context:

23 individuals booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) in Srinagar amid SIA anti-terror raids, raising questions on claims of normalcy in Kashmir.

News in Detail

The Jammu and Kashmir Police detain 23 individuals in Srinagar under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a controversial law that allows authorities to hold people without formal charges for up to two years.

The State Investigation Agency (SIA) also conducts raids across Kashmir, targeting suspected terror associates and sleeper cells.

These developments raise questions about security, governance, and human rights in the region, especially since the government claims that normalcy has returned to the Kashmir Valley.

About Public Safety Act (PSA)

The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, enacted in 1978, is a preventive detention law designed to maintain public order and state security. 

It empowers district authorities (District Magistrates), to detain individuals without trial if they are deemed a threat. 

Key provisions include:

• Detention Without Trial: Authorities can detain someone for up to one year for disturbing public order or two years for threatening state security, even without specific evidence at the time of detention.
• Limited Legal Recourse: Detainees cannot apply for bail or appoint a lawyer. Their only option is a habeas corpus petition filed by relatives in higher courts, a process that is often slow and complex.
• Re-Detention Risk: Even if a court quashes a detention order, the government can issue a fresh one, prolonging confinement.
• Broad Discretionary Powers: Section 8 of the PSA allows detention for vague reasons, such as “promoting enmity” or “threatening public harmony,” with decisions left to district authorities who are protected under the law’s “good faith” clause. 

Human Rights Criticisms

Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, criticize the PSA as a “draconian” law. They argue it allows arbitrary detentions, often targeting dissenting voices, activists, and youth without due process. For example, between 2007-2016, more than 2,400 PSA detention orders were issued, however, courts quashed 58% of them, which highlight their frequent misuse.

Since 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370, PSA detentions have surged, with a seven-fold increase in habeas corpus petitions challenging these detentions between 2014–2019 and 2019–2024. The average time to resolve such cases has also increased from 269.9 days to 329.2 days, prolonging arbitrary detentions.

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J&K PUBLIC SAFETY ACT

Source: 

INDIAN EXPRESS