HC orders release of another ‘minor’ in J&K

A day after teenager Faizan Rafiq Hakeem,who was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA),was released,the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday quashed the detention of another teenager,Tawseef Hussein Bhat. Bhat was also detained under the PSA. Justice Muzaffar Attar while quashing the detention order of Tawseef said that violation of section(8) of the PSA has been done while passing the order against Tawseef,a resident of Baba Mohallah in South Kashmir’s Shopian town. The court directed the government to release Tawseef “forthwith” from Kathua Jail,Jammu.

Earlier,Advocate Mir Shafkat Hussein pleaded before the court that Tawseef is a minor and can’t be detained

under the PSA. As a proof,he submitted the school certificates issued by the Board of School Education,indicating Tawseef was 16 years old. However,in the grounds of detention signed by the District Magistrate of Shopian,Mohammad Sharief Sood,the age of Tawseef had been recorded as 18-19 years.

In the detention order,Tawseef has been depicted as a weak student with close contacts with Hurriyat activists,especially those belonging to the hardline faction. The detention order mentioned that the youth had participated in meetings organised by Hurriyat activists in Shopian and described him of having tendency towards anti-social and anti-national activities. The order accused him and his associates of assaulting policemen on various occasions. The detention order also showed Tawseef involved in two cases registered at Shopian police station.