JAMMU, March 6 -- In a stern message against repeat bovine smuggling, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu has upheld the preventive detention of two alleged habitual offenders under the Public Safety Act, ruling that grant of bail in criminal cases cannot come to the rescue of persons whose activities are found prejudicial to public order. Justice Rajesh Sekhri, while dismissing two separate habeas corpus petitions, held that preventive detention is not meant to punish for past acts alone but to prevent future conduct likely to disturb public tranquillity and communal harmony.
One of the petitions was filed by Shokat Ali, 21, a resident of Ghatti, Kathua, who had challenged detention order No. PSA 168 of 2025 dated June 2...