J&K High Court Quashes Lawyer Ronga’s PSA Detention

Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed the preventive detention of senior lawyer Nazir Ahmad Ronga under the Union Territory’s stringent law Public Safety Act (PSA).

Justice Sanjay Dhar of the High Court, after terming the grounds of detention as “vague, ambiguous and lacking in material particulars, on the basis of which it was not possible for the petitioner to make an effective and suitable representation against the impugned order of detention”, directed the respondents to release him from the preventive custody forthwith, provided he is not required in connection with any other case.

76-year-old Ronga who is a former President of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA) was arrested by the police in a midnight raid at his Srinagar residence hours after it had decided to go ahead with its internal election process on July 10, 2024. The JKHCBA had amended its controversial constitution after the government-imposed restrictions on it for conducting elections. Since 2020, the government has been objecting to the Bar’s constitution, citing its “secessionist ideology”.

The J&K police have over the past one year detained several Kashmir lawyers after openly accusing them of being inclined to the separatists’ cause. One of them, Mian Abdul Qayoom who served as the president of the JKHCBA for twenty terms between 1986 and 2019 was charged by the State Intelligence Agency with murder as an act of terrorism in December last year. He was earlier detained by the agency after collecting “substantial evidence” against him of his involvement in the conspiracy to kill a fellow lawyer Babar Qadri.

Under the PSA a person can be detained without seeking formal trial for a period of three months to two years. The PSA was introduced in J&K way back in 1978 by the National Conference government headed by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, initially to deal with timber smuggling and similar crimes, but it has been often used by the successive governments against their political opponents. The PSA has been defined by Amnesty International as a 'lawless law' for its draconian nature. A 2018 UN report on Kashmir also called for revocation of this law.

While deciding on a petition challenging Mr. Ronga’s detention under Section 8(4) of the PSA “with a view to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state”, Justice Sanjay Dhar said, “There has been total non-application of mind on the part of part of the detaining authority in passing the order." The detention order had besides other charges accused Mr. Ronga of joining the separatist Hurriyat Conference alliance “to spread terrorism and to carry out unlawful activities including session of J&K from the Union of India.”

In a post on ‘X’, Mr. Ronga’s son Umair Ronga, himself a lawyer by profession, said, “The Hon’ble High Court rightly found no justification for the detention, citing non-application of mind and baseless allegations, causing eight months of undue hardship”. He added, “I am deeply grateful to the judiciary for upholding the rule of law and sincerely appreciate Senior Advocate Davendra N. Goburdhun from the Supreme Court of India for his selfless pro-bono assistance and unwavering commitment to justice.”