New Delhi, February 6: Former Jammu & Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, detained since the abrogation of Article 370 last year, were slapped with the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on Thursday. The law, referred to as by a section of civil society members as "draconian", mandates the state to detain an individual for upto two years even without a trial. After Six Months of Detention, PSA Slapped Against Top 2 Valley Leaders.

Along with Omar and Mehbooba, the PSA has also been slapped against  Ali Mohammed Sagar, senior National Conference leader and Sartaj Madani , a veteran member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). The move came a day after chief of the rival People's Conference - Sajjad Lone - was released from detention and placed under house arrest.

What is the Public Safety Act?

The law was incidentally adopted by the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state government headed by Omar's grandfather Sheikh Abdullah. In 1978, the PSA came into existence to combat the timber smugglers who had wreaked havoc in the forests of North Kashmir. The law allowed the government to detain several among the suspected smugglers without chargesheeting them. The National Security Act (NSA), adopted later by the central government, is similar to the stringent J&K law.

What Steps Are Taken After Invoking PSA?

After the PSA is invoked, a person is taken into custody. Under normal circumstances, the law makes it mandatory for the government to produce the accused before a magistrate within 24 hours of detaining him. However, once the PSA is invoked, the administration is not required to produce the detainee before a magistrate.

Section 13(2) of the law, the government may even deny revealing the reason of detention to the detainee, if it is in "public interest". However, the government has to refer all PSA cases to an Advisory Board, which reviews the detention of the individual on periodical intervals.

The first review is done in eighth week of the person's detention. If the Advisory Board finds it fit, the government can be allowed to keep the person detained under PSA for upto two years. In the past, several instances have been recorded where the J&K High Court has quashed the detentions under the law.

In the last three decades, the law introduced to crackdown on timber smuggling has been widely used to crackdown on separatist leaders. All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani remained detained or placed under house arrest for several years under the PSA.

The law has also been used against Hurriyat leader Masarat Alam and JKLF chief Yasin Malik, among others. In September last year, former IAS officer Shah Faesal was detained from Delhi airport, brought to Srinagar and slapped with PSA. After the Pulwama attack in February 2019, dozens of suspects were detained under the law. The then J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik had introduced an amendment, allowing the detainees to be sent to jails located outside J&K.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 06, 2020 11:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).