J-K HC quashes detention of human rights activist Khurram Parvez, orders release

The Jammu and Kashmir high court quashed the detention of prominent human rights activist Khurram Parvez under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA) on Friday.

The order, passed by justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, further released Parvez from preventive custody.

 "Though it is the duty of the State and its authorities to maintain peace in the society, but it is equally their responsibility to ensure that laws, which they invoke to achieve such purpose, are followed and complied with honestly. It is also one of the fundamental duty of paramount importance for the course of law to ensure that laws of the land are implemented in right earnest," read a para from the judgement.

Sources close to Parvez said they are waiting for his release but feared he would be rearrested on separate charges as the state has done with PSA detainees in the past. 

On Thursday, the state government  described Parvez as “an anti-social element known for his anti-national activities” while justifying his preventive detention in the high court. According to media reports, additional advocate general Mohammad Iqbal Dar had told the court that "when he (Parvez) went to jail, there were three suitcases with him and there are foreign clothing. They are living cosy lives".

Parvez has been the most prominent face of human rights movement in Kashmir in recent times and his arrest under the controversial PSA has attracted condemnation and raised questions on the state’s procedures to tackle unrests.

He was picked up by the police on September 15 in Srinagar a day after he was stopped from travelling to Geneva to participate in a UN Human Rights Council session. The condemnation of his arrest hasn’t only been domestic.

Parvez and his organisation the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) has played a key role in documenting and reporting the violations of human rights in troubled Kashmir. During the current unrest, Parvez constantly criticised the killings and blinding of civilians and raised his voice about several allegations of rights violations by security forces.

Also read | Rights activist Khurram Parvez’s arrest opens up can of worms