Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978

Public Safety Act, 1978
Jammu and Kashmir Legislature
  • an Act whereas it is necessary in the interest of the security of the State and public order to make law providing for the measures hereinafter appearing.
CitationAct No. VI of 1978
Territorial extentJammu and Kashmir
Enacted byGovernor of Jammu and Kashmir
Enacted8 April 1978
Status: In force

The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) is a preventive detention law under which a person is taken into custody to prevent them from acting harmfully against "the security of the state or the maintenance of the public order" in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (now a union territory). Whereas PSA applies only to Jammu and Kashmir, it is very similar to the National Security Act that is used by the central and other state governments of India for preventive detention.[1]

It was introduced by the then-Chief Minister, Sheikh Abdullah, in 1978 to ostensibly stop the smuggling of timber. However, the political motives behind the law became clearer when Sheikh Abdullah used it for the first time against political rivals.[2] Since its usage in the late 1970s, it is still being used today for "the security of the state".[3][4] Following the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, PSA was one of the state laws which was retained under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019.[5]

In 2015, the government made public the figure of 16,329 persons having been detained under the act since 1988, nearly all from Kashmir.[5] National Crime Records Bureau records only 16 women detentions in the period 1995–2008.[6] In February 2020, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court of India by Bhim Singh of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party terming PSA "as dead and ultra vires".[7]

  1. ^ The Indian Express (17 September 2019). "Explained: What is Jammu and Kashmir's Public Safety Act?". Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  2. ^ Bhat 2019, p. 56.
  3. ^ Bhat 2019, p. 66.
  4. ^ Wani, Ayjaz (28 January 2020). "Life in Kashmir after Article 370". Observer Research Foundation. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b Ahmad, Mudasir (28 January 2020). "How the Public Safety Act Continues to Haunt Kashmir". The Wire. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  6. ^ Amnesty International (2011). A 'Lawless Law': Detention Under The J&K Public Safety Act. Amnesty International. Retrieved on 12 March 2020. Archived on 16 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Plea challenging Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act filed in Supreme Court". Deccan Herald. PTI. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)