What is the Public Safety Act?
Promulgated in 1978, the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) allows for administrative detention of up to two years without a trial “in the case of persons acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State,” and for administrative detention of up to one year where “any person is acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”.
The Act was introduced as a measure to check timber smuggling in Jammu and Kashmir
Under Section 8 of the PSA, a divisional commissioner or a district magistrate may issue a detention order to prevent any person from acting in a manner prejudicial to the “security of the State or the maintenance of the public order”
All detention orders and representations made by detained person(s) must be placed before an advisory board within four weeks from the date of the detention order.
The advisory board is a government-appointed three-member body, composed of high court judges or individuals qualified to be judges of a high court. The Advisory Board is responsible for reviewing the detention order, representation by the detained person, and any other information it considers necessary, to determine whether or not there is sufficient cause for the detention of the person. The detention of persons below the age of 18 is prohibited under the PSA, following amendments to the Act in 2012.
In August 2018, the Act was amended to allow people to be detained under the PSA outside J&K as well
A person detained can, within 10 days, make a representation to the Government which may confirm, modify or rescind the order within 21 days of the making of the representation. In case the government rejects the representation, the person can approach the High Court within two months.