‘Books don’t make a criminal’: Court quashes Kashmir scholar’s detention
The Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh High Court has dismissed charges against a Kashmir scholar, Shafat Maqbool Wani, for possessing books, ruling that mere book possession does not make one a criminal. Wani was detained last year under the Public Safety Act (PSA) after 25 books, mostly on Kashmir history, were banned by the J&K administration.
The court's decision highlights that the detaining authorities failed to provide concrete evidence of Wani's prejudicial activities against the state. The court emphasized that the absence of any subversive activity against Wani warranted the preventive detention. The earlier ban on books, deemed as promoting secessionist sentiment and false narratives, was also overturned.
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