The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed the Public Safety Act (PSA) detention of journalist Majid Hyderi, citing vague and arbitrary grounds that violated Article 14 of the Constitution.

Hyderi, who was arrested in September 2023, had been lodged in Kot Balwal Jail, Jammu.

Hyderi was initially arrested on charges of extortion, defamation, and spreading false information based on a complaint filed by another journalist. Although a Srinagar court granted him bail on September 16, 2023, he was not released and was instead placed under preventive detention under the PSA.

Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul, in his order, noted that the grounds for Hyderi’s detention lacked specificity and appeared to be deliberately vague, making it difficult for him to present a precise rebuttal.

The court emphasized that mere references to pending criminal cases cannot be used as justification for preventive detention unless there is a direct and immediate link between past conduct and present necessity.

The court found it "startling" that a defamation suit filed by a local journalist in the Shergari police station was cited to portray Hyderi as a threat to India's sovereignty, security, and integrity. It observed that minor disputes between individuals do not amount to public disorder or a threat to state security.

Hyderi’s counsel, senior advocate Muhammad Yusuf Bhat, welcomed the ruling, stating that the allegations against Hyderi were baseless.

"This is a sound judgment, reaffirming the rule of law. If someone is not anti-national, they cannot be punished. The verdict also serves as a warning to the government against misuse of preventive detention laws," Bhat said.

The journalist’s legal team argued that his arrest was linked to his reporting on a Srinagar-based journalist with alleged criminal antecedents, who is currently associated with a right-wing national newspaper.

Hyderi had reportedly informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha about the alleged illegal activities of this journalist.

The court also dismissed the use of Hyderi’s past social media posts from 2018 as a basis for his detention, stating that they lacked a "live and proximate link" to any current security threat.

It reiterated a previous J&K High Court ruling that being a government critic does not justify preventive detention unless such views incite public disorder.

Slamming the detaining authority, the court ruled that preventive detention orders must be backed by fresh, relevant material demonstrating an urgent need to detain an individual.

"Stale incidents cannot serve as a basis for detention," the order emphasized.

The verdict is seen as a strong rebuke of arbitrary detentions under the PSA and a reaffirmation of constitutional rights, particularly freedom of speech and due process.