JUDGMENT : 1. District Magistrate, Ramban (hereinafter called ‘Detaining Authority’) in exercise of powers under Section 8 of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, passed the detention Order No. 20/PSA of 2022 Dated 27.09.2022 (for short ‘impugned order’), in terms whereof the detenue namely Sadam Hussain Ganie S/O Abdul Salam Ganie R/O Village Fagow Duligam, Tehsil Banihal, District Ramban (for short ‘detenue’) has been detained. 2. The impugned detention order has been challenged through the medium of the instant petition, allegedly having been passed in breach of the provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution of India read with Section 13(1) of the Public Safety Act, 1978. 3. It is being pleaded in the petition that the detaining authority-respondent No.2 has not attributed any specific allegation against the detenue; that the detenue has been incapacitated in filing a representation as the grounds of detention are not in a language which could be understood by the detenue; that the detenue is not an English literate person and understands only Urdu/Kashmiri language but the order of detention is in English and it is not possible for him to understand such a hyper technical language; and that the order of detention and the connected documents annexed with the petition clearly show violation of right of the detenue guaranteed in terms of the Article 21 of the Constitution of India; that neither the petitioner is threat to the public order nor he has committed any such crime which has disturbed the society at large;. 4. Respondents in their counter affidavits have stated that the detenue was ordered to be detained for maintenance of ‘public order’ and had he been let free, there would have been every likelihood of his re-indulging in anti-national/criminal activities; that the power of preventive detention is different from punishment as the preventive detention is aimed at stopping the illegal activities of an individual, which, otherwise, under common law both criminal/civil cannot be stopped and the said individual creates a havoc in the society which leads to public disorder, disturbing peace, prosperity, tranquility, integrity and security of the UT of J&K, particularly in Banihal; that the petitioner remains instigating and provoking the general masses, particularly youths of Banihal and its adjoining area against the Government and to disturb peaceful law and order situation at Banihal, the petitioner tried to create communal tension and usually remained busy in illegal activities. It is being stated that the elder brother of the petitioner namely Mohd Abass had joined militancy about 25 years ago and crossed over to Pakistan and is presently operating from Pakistan; the petitioner was in close contact with his brother namely Mohd Abass on mobile phone as well as social media and he was providing information regarding sensitive matters of this side to his brother who is a terrorist. It is being also stated that mobile phone of the petitioner has been checked and found that he was in close contact with his brother (terrorist) namely Mohd Abbas who exfiltrated to Pakistan about 25 years ago on mobile as well as WhatsApp No. +(202)7736230. During scrutiny, three contact numbers belongings to out of India were found in the phone book of the petitioner, moreover a video was found in his phone in which there was song of POK regarding alleged atrocities conducted in Kashmir; that the petitioner had sent the video to his brother Mohd Abbas who urged him to share more such videos of Kashmir and also told the petitioner to share contact number of any relative in Kashmir and the petitioner shared contact of one of his relative in Kashmir to Mohd Abbas. It is also being stated that the petitioner is involved in numerous criminal activities, was not likely to desist from his anti-national/criminal activities which were prejudicial to the maintenance of peace and public order in District Ramban. 5. Learned counsel for the detenue, while being heard, makes reference to the grounds of the detention and states that on a cursory look on the same it is manifest that same are vague. It is also submitted that the Detaining Authority on the basis of dossier submitted by Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban, without application of mind and without evaluating the allegations alleged against the detenue in the said dossier, copy of which was not even provided to the detenue, proceeded to pass impugned detention order whereby the detenue has been detained and directed to be lodged at Central Jail, Kot Bhalwal, Jammu. In addition, learned counsel submitted that the allegations levelled against the detenue are totally vague as nothing specific has been stated in the grounds of detention. 6. In rebuttal, learned GA submits that the record reveals that there is no vagueness in the grounds of detention. In addition, learned counsel submitted that the allegations levelled against the detenue are totally vague as nothing specific has been stated in the grounds of detention. 6. In rebuttal, learned GA submits that the record reveals that there is no vagueness in the grounds of detention. The procedural safeguards prescribed under the provisions of Public Safety Act and the rights guaranteed to the detenue under the Constitution have strictly been followed in the instant case. The detenue has been furnished whole of the material, as was required, and was also made aware of his right to make representation to the detaining authority as well as government, against his detention. 7. Heard learned counsel for both the sides at length and considered the record. 8. Personal liberty is one of the most cherished freedoms, perhaps more important than the other freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution. It was for this reason that the Founding Fathers enacted the safeguards in Article 22 in the Constitution so as to limit the power of the State to detain a person without trial, which may otherwise pass the test of Article 21, by humanising the harsh authority over individual liberty. In a democracy that of ours, governed by the rule of law, the drastic power to detain a person without trial for security of the State and/or maintenance of public order, must be strictly construed. However, where individual liberty comes into conflict with an interest of the security of the State or public order, then the liberty of the individual must give way to the larger interest of the nation. 9. Before appreciating the rival contentions of the parties, it would be appropriate to note that the procedural requirements are the only safeguards available to the detenue since the Court cannot go behind the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority as has been laid down by Hon’ble Apex Court in a case titled Abdul Latif Abdul Wahab Sheikh Vs B.K. Jha &Anr., reported as (1987) 2 SCC 22 . The procedural requirements are, therefore, to be strictly complied with, if any value is to be attached to the liberty of the subject and the constitutional rights guaranteed to him in that regard. 10. The requirement of law is that whole of the record, on which the detention order is based, has to be made available to the detenue in the language that he understands. 10. The requirement of law is that whole of the record, on which the detention order is based, has to be made available to the detenue in the language that he understands. As per the execution report, he has been furnished copies of detention order (01leaf), notice of detention (01leaf), grounds of detention (03 leaves) [Total 05 leaves]. However, he has not been provided with copies of daily dairies etc. as well as the material relied upon by the detaining authority under which the petitioner has been detained. The detenue, thus cannot be said to be provided with whole of the material which based his detention, so as to make an effective and meaningful representation. The failure on the part of the detaining authority to supply material renders detention illegal and unsustainable. 11. A three Judge Bench of the Apex Court in a case titled “Sushanta Kumar Banik versus State of Tripura & Ors” (2022 SCC Online SC 1333), while dealing with preventive detention, held on 30.09.2022 in paragraph 28, as follows: “The preventive detention is a serious invasion of personal liberty and the normal methods open to a person charged with commission of any offence to disprove the charge or to prove his innocence at the trial are not available to the person preventively detained and, therefore, in prevention detention jurisprudence whatever little safeguards the Constitution and the enactments authorizing such detention provide assume utmost importance and must be strictly adhered to.” 12. It shall also be quite apposite to reproduce the following portions from Paras 3 and 5 of the judgment rendered by Hon’ble the Supreme Court in the case titled “Raziya Umar Bakshi Vs Union of India & Ors.” ( AIR 1980 SC 1751 ): “3.......The service of the ground of detention on the detenu is a very precious constitutional right and where the grounds are couched in a language which is not known to the detenu, unless the contents of the grounds are fully explained and translated to the detenu, it will tantamount to not serving the grounds of detention to the detenu and would thus vitiate the detention ex-facie. 5..........in cases where the detaining authority is satisfied that the grounds are couched in a language which is not known to the detenu, it must see to it that the grounds are explained to the detenu, a translated script is given to him and the grounds bear some sort of a certificate to show that the grounds have been explained to the detenu in the language which he understands.” 13. The Hon’ble Apex Court in the judgment rendered in the case of “Sophia Gulam Mohd. Bham V. State of Maharashtra & Ors. ( AIR 1999 SC 3051 ), has also held as under: “The right to be communicated the grounds of detention flows from Article 22(5) while the right to be supplied all the material on which the grounds are based flows from the right given to the detenu to make a representation against the order of detention. A representation can be made and the order of detention can be assailed only when all the grounds on which the order is based are communicated to the detenu and the material on which those grounds are based are also disclosed and copies thereof are supplied to the person detained, in his own language.” 14. Vide impugned order, the Detaining Authority has vide No. DMR/408-410 dated 27.09.2022, though communicated to the detenue his right to represent against the order to the government but he has not been informed as to whether representation can be made to the detaining authority. Also no time limit was communicated, in which, he could make a representation, till approval of the detention order by the Government. In a case of National Security Act, titled “Jitendra Vs. Dist. Magistrate, Barabanki & Ors.”, reported as 2004 Cri.L.J 2967, the Division Bench of Hon’ble Allahabad High Court, has held:- “10. We make no bones in observing that a partial communication of a right (in the grounds of detention) of the type in the instant case, wherein the time limit for making a representation is of essence and is not communicated in the grounds of detention, would vitiate the right fundamental right guaranteed to the detenue under Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India, namely, of being communicated, as soon as may be the grounds of detention.” 15. This is another reason, as to why the impugned order would be vitiated since the detenue’s right to make a representation to the detaining authority was only available to him till approval of detention order by the Government, it follows as a logical imperative that the detaining authority should have communicated to the detenue in the grounds of detention the time limit, in which, he could make a representation to it i.e., till the approval of the detention order by the State Government. 16. Reproducing the dossier prepared by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban in the order of detention, almost word by word; non furnishing of the whole of the material on which detention order was based; furnishing the material in English and not the language of the detenue; and not informing detenue of his right to make representation before the Detaining Authority within the statutory period, all reflect that the Detaining Authority has not applied its mind to draw the subjective satisfaction to detain the petitioner and detenue has also been deprived of his fundamental right to make effective and meaningful representation against the detention order to the Detaining Authority and the government. 17. The detention of the detenue has been ordered on the basis of instigating and provoking the general masses, particularly, the youths of Banihal and its adjoining areas against Government, to disturb peace and law and order situation at Banihal, he was also trying to create communal tension and usually remained busy in illegal activities. Just being brother of a militant, who exfiltrated to POK and without any ostensible activities in the direction of public peace or security, cannot justify preventive detention of the petitioner. The live and proximate link between the past conduct of the detenue and the imperative need to detain, have to be harmonised to rely upon the alleged illegal activities of the detenue. Old and stale incidents shall be of no use as has been held in “Sama Aruna Vs State of Telangana & Anr.” reported as (2018) 12 SCC 150 . Relevant paragraph No.16 is extracted as under: ““16. Old and stale incidents shall be of no use as has been held in “Sama Aruna Vs State of Telangana & Anr.” reported as (2018) 12 SCC 150 . Relevant paragraph No.16 is extracted as under: ““16. Obviously, therefore, the power to detain, under the Act of 1986 can be exercised only for preventing a person from engaging in or pursuing or taking some action which adversely affects or is likely to affect adversely the maintenance of public order; or for preventing him from making preparations for engaging in such activities. There is little doubt that the conduct or activities of the detenu in the past must be taken into account for coming to the conclusion that he is going to engage in or make preparations for engaging in such activities, for many such persons follow a pattern of criminal activities. But the question is how far back? There is no doubt that only activities so far back can be considered as furnish a cause for preventive detention in the present. That is, only those activities so far back in the past which lead to the conclusion that he is likely to engage in or prepare to engage in such activities in the immediate future can be taken into account. In Golam Hussain vs State of W.B, this Court observed as follows : (SCC p.535 para 5) “No authority, acting rationally, can be satisfied, subjectively or otherwise, of future mischief merely because long ago the detenu had done something evil. To rule otherwise is to sanction a simulacrum of a statutory requirement. But no mechanical test by counting the months of the interval is sound. It all depends on the nature of the acts relied on, grave and determined or less serious and corrigible, on the length of the gap, short or long, on the reason for the delay in taking preventive action, like information of participation being available only in the course of an investigation. We have to investigate whether the causal connection has been broken in the circumstances of each case”. Suffice it to say that in any case, incidents which are said to have taken place nine to fourteen years earlier, cannot form the basis for being satisfied in the present that the detenu is going to engage in, or make preparation for engaging in such activities”. 18. Suffice it to say that in any case, incidents which are said to have taken place nine to fourteen years earlier, cannot form the basis for being satisfied in the present that the detenu is going to engage in, or make preparation for engaging in such activities”. 18. For the foregoing reasons and the law discussed hereinabove, this petition is allowed. Impugned order of detention No.20/PSA of 2022 Dated 27.09.2022 passed by the District Magistrate, Ramban is, as such, quashed. The detenue namely Sadam Hussain Ganie S/O Abdul Salam Ganie R/O Village Fagow Duligam, Tehsil Banihal, District Ramban is ordered to be released from the preventive custody, forthwith, provided he is not required in connection with any other case(s). 19. Detention record, as produced, be returned to the learned GA. 20. Writ petition is disposed of, accordingly.