Srinagar, Feb 19 The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday quashed the detention order of journalist Majid Hyderi under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Justice V.K. Chatterjee quashed the detention of Hyderi under PSA, the petitioner’s advocate told reporters here.
Majid Hyderi was arrested and booked under the PSA on charges of extortion and defamation in September 2023. He was later lodged in the Kot Balwal jail in Jammu district. The court had reserved the judgement on Majid’s detention after a heated argument from both sides and announced the judgement today.
In another case, the high court dismissed the petition filed by senior advocate, Mian Qayoom, challenging his detention order under the PSA. Mian Qayoom was arrested on June 25, 2024, during the investigation into the murder of advocate Babar Qadri.
Qadri was killed by gunmen in his home in the Hawal area of Srinagar city in 2020. Before his killing, he had accused Mian Qayoom of hatching a conspiracy to kill him.
A special investigation team (SIT) formed later said it had enough evidence to arrest Mian Qayoom in the murder of Babar Qadri.
Special Investigation Agency (SIA) of police on December 19, 2024, filed a supplementary chargesheet against 80-year-old Mian Abdul Qayoom, former president of the High Court Bar Association-Kashmir (HCBA-K), and claimed documentary and technical evidence about his role in the murder of lawyer Babar Qadri in 2020.
The SIA produced the fresh chargesheet before the Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu.
“It was revealed during the in-depth investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that Qayoom, who had an inimical relation with the deceased, got Babar Qadri eliminated through terrorists of TRF (The Resistance Front) and their handlers in Pakistan by hatching a criminal conspiracy,” the SIA said.
The police’s special wing said Qadri had been a very vocal young lawyer, who not only questioned Qayoom’s one-upmanship at the HCBA-K but severely criticised him on multiple occasions for using the platform for furthering his secessionist agenda.
--IANS
sq/dan
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