The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed the preventive detention of Masoom Ali alias Kala, a resident of Samba district, holding that the authorities had failed to justify his detention under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act, 1988.
According to details received by The Chenab Times, Justice Rahul Bharti delivered the judgment on November 6 in Habeas Corpus Petition (HCP) No. 37/2026, setting aside detention order No. PITNDPS 74 of 2025 dated December 17, 2025, and the subsequent government confirmation order dated January 23, 2026. The Court directed the Superintendent of District Jail Udhampur to ensure his immediate release from preventive detention.
The case was filed by Masoom Ali through his wife, Bibi Begum, challenging his detention on grounds of alleged non-application of mind by the authorities and an attempt to circumvent bail orders granted by criminal courts.
The detention proceedings were initiated following a dossier submitted by the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Samba, alleging that Ali was continuously involved in drug-peddling activities. The dossier referred to three criminal cases registered against him.
These included FIR No. 46/2023 registered at Police Station Samba under Sections 8 and 21 of the NDPS Act, FIR No. 60/2023 registered at the same police station under Sections 8, 21 and 29, and FIR No. 173/2025 registered at Police Station Bari Brahmana under Sections 8, 21, 25 and 29 of the Act.
The petitioner had secured bail in FIR No. 46/2023 and FIR No. 173/2025. The Court also noted that an attempt to cancel his bail in the latter case had failed through an order dated December 4, 2025.
Examining the circumstances surrounding the detention, Justice Bharti observed that the preventive detention appeared to be a counter-action to the bail granted by ordinary criminal courts.
The Court observed that the Samba Police intended to overreach the orders of the criminal courts instead of pursuing appropriate proceedings before those courts for cancellation of bail.
The judgment also highlighted a serious factual discrepancy concerning FIR No. 60/2023. The authorities had failed to establish whether Ali had been arrested and subsequently granted bail in the case or had been declared an absconder.
The Court noted that neither the SSP Samba nor the Divisional Commissioner Jammu appeared to have verified his actual status in the case before the detention order was issued.
Describing this as a glaring factual omission, the Court questioned the basis on which the authorities had considered Ali suitable for preventive detention without establishing his status in the pending criminal proceedings.
Holding the detention legally unsustainable, the High Court quashed both the detention order and the subsequent government confirmation order, directing the immediate release of Masoom Ali from preventive detention at District Jail Udhampur.
The petitioner was represented by Advocate Qadri Towkeer Nazir along with Advocate Amjed Khan, while the respondents were represented by Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli, assisted by Advocate Nazia Fazal.
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