1. J&K Public safety Act 1978
Ashiq sofi 29165
Faisal shabir 29168
Jibran 29189
Faisal rafiq 29190

3. BACKGROUND
 One of the most draconian laws applicable in Jammu and
Kashmir, Public Safety Act (PSA), that is being liberally
used as a repressive measure to scuttle any dissent, often
also for victimising innocent youth, ironically finds its roots
in the Defence of India Act (DIA) during the British rule.
 After independence, Defense of India Act changed
nomenclature in the year 1967 and is presently known as
Public Safety Act, more precisely in Jammu and Kashmir
as Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act-1978 with
provisions and impunity almost similar to the act of British
era.
 In fact, the PSA happens to be a more punitive form of the
DIA that was described by various National leaders
including Mahatma Gandhi as draconian and a black law
enacted by Britishers to suppress Indian freedom struggle.

4. View of Legal Experts
 Legal experts say that PSA, which operates in Jammu and
Kashmir, differs from the act operating in rest of the country.
They maintain that Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act-1978
(JKPSA-1978) was amended in the year 1990 which made it
possible for extending the operation of the act beyond the State,
enabling the State machinery to keep detainees in the jails of
India, outside the State.
 They over that this provision is strictly meant for Jammu and
Kashmir. Experts opine that state government can recommend
review of Public Safety Act but the same has never been done.
They add that respective governments since 1978 have used the
law to their fullest advantage but have never sought a review of
this act.

5. Amnesty International
 Reports of Amnesty International (AI) and other human
rights organizations suggest that people detained under
the PSA also run a high risk of being tortured, as many are
denied access to family or lawyers for long periods. These
reports also indicate that torture is widely used in police
stations and interrogation centers in Jammu and Kashmir
to extract confessions or information, to humiliate or punish
detainees, leading to dozens of reported deaths in custody.
 Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the
Government of Jammu and Kashmir to immediately and
unconditionally release the all the political prisoners held
under PSA. A senior counsel from Jammu said that
security concerns in Jammu and Kashmir are obviously a
top priority for the government
 A report of Amnesty international maintains that in
February 1998, a political activist Ghulam Ahmad Dar was
given electric shocks, had wooden rollers rolled over his

6. Role of Advisory Board For PSA
 The Advisory board is headed by a sitting or
former judge of high court .The advisory board
examines the case only once in the initial stages
of detention .There is no process of appeal
against the decision of the advisory board .
Section 16 allows Advisory board to produce
report within 4 weeks to government. Govt is
bound to release a detainee if the Board finds no
sufficient cause for detention.
 Amnesty international was informed that in many
cases detainees refuse to file representation
before Advisory Board as they see no hope of
proper hearing . The board is an Eye wash. Out
of 100 cases may be one or two cases they may
recommend revocation of detention order.

7. Violation in PSA Detention Regime
 Lack of information and access to family: family
members are mostly required to act as conduits
between detainees and lawyers .
 Bad treatment & conditions in prisons: The poor
conditions of detainees are a clear attempt to
degrade the detainees and to add to their
punishment with the hope of eventually breaking
them.

8. Condition of Detainees in J&K
Prisons
 The condition of detainees in prisons are reportedly
poor, although they are believed to improve since
the Govt of India and ICRC signed memorandum of
understanding ( MOU) in 1995 allowing the ICRC
to monitor the conditions in prisons within state.
 As Per MOU the ICRC can meet with any persons
detained or arrested by authorities in relations with
the situation prevailing in J& K .
 In practice , the ICRC can interview detainees in
private and also assist in restoring links between
detainees and their family members.

9. ‘Rotten’ justice system in J&K big
blow for juveniles.
 The (ACHR) group blames a "rotten" juvenile justice
system in the state under which girls are put in prisons
and lock-ups because there is no juvenile home for
them.

10. ACHR(ASIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS)
-> The governmentOF PSA IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
REPORT of Jammu & Kashmir has been illegally detaining minors
under the Public Safety Act, 1978, which provides for up to two years of
preventive detention. A large, yet unknown, number of children have been
detained is no Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee in Jammu
->There under the PSA
and Kashmir, and minors are tried in normal courts, sometimes as adults, in
contravention with India’s national laws and international obligations.
->Children in conflict with the law in J&K do not get the benefit of the Central
law i.e. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. Under the
1997 J&K Juvenile Justice Act, those who are over 16 years are not regarded
as juveniles
-> Across India, school certificates are used to determine the age of a juvenile.
This is not the practice in J&K. The J&K Police in all cases argue that those
detained are adults. Until their age is medically assessed or ruled by the Judge,
juveniles are assumed to be adults and are detained in adult detention facilities
placing them at very high risk of abuse in clear violation of national laws and
international human rights standards
->Even if age can be determined, the lack of juvenile facilities such as juvenile
homes means that detained delinquents are routinely detained in police lock-
ups or in prisons with adults.

12. Jan. 1989 to Nov. 30, 2011
Total Killings * 93,712
November 2011
Custodial Killings 6,989
Total Killings * 4
Civilians Arrested 119,727
Custodial Killings 1
Tortured/Critically
68
Structures Arsoned/Destroyed 105,936 Injured
Civilians
95
Arrested
Women Widowed 22,762 Structures
1
Arsoned/Destroyed
Disappeared 0
Children Orphaned 107,434
Women Widowed 0
Children Orphaned 0
Women gang-raped / Molested 10,019 Women gang-raped /
2
Molested

13. Thank