Imperative To Prevent Governmental ‘Overreach’ Under PSA: HC

Srinagar: Observing that preventive detention laws like PSA can easily lead to arbitrary exercise of authority, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh has said that it is imperative for the Courts to meticulously scrutinize cases involving such legislations to safeguard against governmental overreach.

“Preventive detention laws in India are extraordinary statutes, granting significant power to the State. Such laws can easily lead to arbitrary exercise of authority by the Government,” said a Division Bench of Chief Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal.

The Bench said that there is no doubt that the Courts cannot, on a review of the grounds, substitute its own opinion for that of the detaining authority, and cannot act as a court of appeal, it is solely the domain of the detaining authority to reach to a subjective satisfaction. “However, this does not mean that the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority is wholly immune from judicial reviewability,” the Bench said, adding, “The courts have by judicial decisions carved out an area, limited though it be, within which the validity of the subjective satisfaction can yet be subjected to judicial scrutiny.” The basic postulate on which the courts have proceeded, is that the subjective satisfaction being a condition precedent for the exercise of the power conferred on the Executive, the Court can always examine whether the requisite satisfaction is arrived at by the authority, the Division Bench said.

“If it is not, the condition precedent to the exercise of the power would not be fulfilled and the exercise of the power would be bad.”

There are several grounds evolved by