Srinagar, April 22 -- The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has reiterated that preventive detention is an exceptional power and cannot override the fundamental right to personal liberty under Articles 21 and 22 unless strict procedural safeguards are followed.

The court made it clear that any detention must be just, fair, and reasonable, and not based on vague or mechanical grounds.

The bench of Justice W S Nargal while disposing of a habaeus corpus petition of 34-years-old Maqsad Ali Kohli of Navarunda, Tehsil Uri, Baramulla, detained under the preventive detention law - Public Safety Act (PSA) - in 2024 observed that vague and general allegations cannot sustain a detention order.

The bench held that unless specific details-su...