Alam was arrested on April 17 two days after he shouted pro-Pakistan slogans and called for Kashmir's merger with Pakistan during a Pro-Pakistan rally organised to welcome Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani in which his supporters also unfurled Pakistani flags.
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed led PDP-BJP government suffered a major setback on Friday when Jammu and Kashmir high court quashed the detention of Hurriyat hardliner Masarat Alam under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Alam was arrested on April 17 two days after he shouted pro-Pakistan slogans and called for Kashmir's merger with Pakistan during a Pro-Pakistan rally organised to welcome Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani in which his supporters also unfurled Pakistani flags.
Alam's arrest had come just a month after he was released by Mufti government after spending almost four and half years in jail for leading 'Quit Kashmir Movement' in which 120 youth were killed mostly in the security force firing on the stone pelting mobs in 2010. The 43 year old Hurriyat hardliner was booked under PSA on April 23 and sent to Kot Bhawal jail Jammu. Under the PSA, Alam had to remain in jail without trail and bail for six months which was extendable.
Four months on, a single judge bench of Justice Hasnain Masoodi of Jammu and Kashmir high court quashed Alam's detention under the PSA.
"J&K high court has quashed the detention of our beloved leader under PSA. It is good news not only for our party but for the entire nation. Alam lives in the hearts of every Kashmiri," said Mohammad Rafiq Ganai, spokesman of Alam-led Muslim League, which is a constituent of Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
The decision came on a hebus corpus petition that was filed in the J&K high court to challenge Alam's detention under PSA. Justice Masoodi after hearing the arguments announced that Alam's detention under PSA stands quashed.
Sources however said the state government is unlikely to release Alam since he is facing serious charges including sedition under section 124 A Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and waging war against the state section 121 RPC for holding pro-Pakistan rally in the heart of the city.
Besides, police has also booked him under section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraint), 336 (does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life), 427 (commits mischief) of RPC.
Sources said there is every possibility that the state government may slap another PSA on Alam to keep him in jail. Alam has spent more than 17 years in prisons in last 25 years under various PSA orders.
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 "Jammu and Kashmir high court quashes detention of Hurriyat hardliner Masarat Alam under PSA")
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