India, Nov. 6 -- The Gauhati High Court on Friday, November 6, quashed the preventive detention of Assam-based Indigenous rights activist Pranab Doley under the National Security Act (NSA), bringing a major legal development in a case that began with protests against a proposed luxury hotel near Kaziranga National Park.

Doley, who convenes the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee, was arrested on July 12 in connection with protests against a proposed luxury hotel at Inglay Pathar in Golaghat district. Local opposition to the project centred on concerns over land rights, environmental consequences and the implications of commercial development for communities living around Kaziranga.

His continued detention took a...