Srinagar, Oct. 20 -- The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday quashed the preventive detention of social activist Waqar H Bhatti from Rajouri, calling the order "arbitrary" and issued "without proper consideration." Bhatti had been in custody for nearly eight months under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

Justice M.A. Chowdhary noted that the detaining authority had not informed Bhatti of his right to contest the order, nor provided him with complete material relied upon for the detention. The judgment pointed out that the grounds cited were largely drawn from police records, showing no independent assessment by officials.

The court further observed that Bhatti had not been supplied the records in an understandable manner, denyi...