HC quotes Einstein to lift PSA detention, Omar’s lawyer son wins case

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed the preventive detention of a Pulwama resident under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) citing contradictions in records and evidence. albert einstein‘Careless’ remarks in case of chief minister’s son Zamir Abdullah and representative Zahir Abdullah Omar Abdullah.Justice Rahul Bharti quoted Einstein in his order on Thursday and ordered the release of salesman Mudasir Ahmad Bhat.While the authority’s order mentioned that Bhat was detained on April 30, 2025, documents from Udhampur jail showed that he had been lodged there since December 5, 2024, a few months before the order was issued.The PSA allows for detention without trial for up to six months on public disturbance issues, which can be extended by six months.Justice Bhatti criticized the authorities for taking a cavalier approach to such a strict law. The judge said: “The exercise of jurisdiction under the PSA is constitutionally meant and understood to be a very serious jurisdiction whose handlers are not at any stage careless, but in this case the conduct of the defendant was found to be inconsistent with the claims of Albert Einstein.”According to a police file that formed the basis of the detention order issued by the Pulwama district magistrate, Bhatt was a “potential” underground worker who allegedly provided information to terrorists about the movements of security forces and tried to lure young people to join their ranks.Bhat challenged the detention in May last year, leaving his wife Shagufta Akhter to approach the Supreme Court. As the case progressed, authorities extended his detention for another six months, until April 30, 2026.The HC found serious discrepancies in the official records. Most strikingly, the Udhampur jail chief mentioned that Bhat had been lodged there since December 2024, more than four months before the Pulwama DM’s detention order on April 30, 2025.Judge Bhatti also highlighted other inconsistencies. While the police file states that Bhat was summoned and warned about his activities on February 28, 2025, and April 23, 2025, the place of detention mentioned by the DM indicates that he was summoned on February 28, 2025, and February 23, 2025.