Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed the detention of a minor boy, arrested under Public Safety Act on the charges of stone-pelting last year, and ordered his immediate release.
The order for the release of Tawseef Hussain Bhat, a resident of south Kashmir Shopian district, was passed by Justice Muzaffar Attar yesterday.
The court order came in response to the habeas corpus petition filed by his parents through their counsel Mir Shafqat Hussain, challenging the detention of the boy under PSA on multiple grounds.
While quashing the detention order against the boy, the judge held that the PSA order speaks about "non-application of mind by the detaining authority" besides it "violates section 8 of the law".
The boy was arrested by police in December last year on the charges of stone-pelting and instigating violence and was presently lodged in Kathua jail in Jammu region.
According to a certificate issued by State Board of School Education, the date of birth of the boy has been recorded as January 26, 1995.
The high court order for release of Tawseef comes barely two days after authorities set free Faizan Rafiq, who was also arrested on charges of stone-pelting and booked under PSA in Kathua jail, early this year.
Faizan was released on Tuesday on the direction of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah after a campaign by Amnesty International for the release of the boy.
PTI
