J&K High Court quashes journalist Majid Hyderi’s detention under Public Safety Act

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday quashed the detention of independent journalist and television debater Majid Hyderi, who has been held for over 17 months under the Public Safety Act.

The police and Srinagar district administration had alleged that Hyderi disseminated false information in the guise of journalism, and promoted secessionism.

However, Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul said that the grounds for Hyderi’s detention were vague, and did not refer to the date, month and year of the activities attributed to him. “Detention in preventive custody on the basis of such vague and ambiguous grounds of detention cannot be justified,” the judge said.

Hyderi was taken into custody on September 14, 2023, in Srinagar and booked under the Public Safety Act. He is currently lodged in the Kot Bhalwal Jail in the Jammu region.

Before being detained under the Public Safety Act, which permits up to two years of detention without trial, Hyderi faced charges of criminal conspiracy, extortion, spreading false information, and defamation following a complaint by a local journalist.

However, the court said on Wednesday that the detaining authority’s reference to Hyderi’s 2018 social media comments and news items failed to establish the “live and proximate link” that would justify detention.

The judge said that the generalised grounds in…

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