Srinagar, May 08, KDC: High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar has upheld the preventive detention of 18-year-old youth, who is accused of involvement in the 2021 killing of Akash Mehra, owner of the famous Krishna Dhaba in Srinagar.
Justice Rahul Bharti dismissed the habeas corpus petition filed through the detenue’s father, challenging the detention order passed under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978.
As per the case record, the detention order was issued by the District Magistrate, Pulwama on April 30, 2025, after a dossier submitted by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Pulwama alleged that the petitioner was involved in activities prejudicial to the security of the State.
The Court noted that the petitioner was allegedly in contact through Facebook and WhatsApp with one Shakeel Ahmad alias Gazi and was accused of orchestrating the attack on February 17, 2021, in which two associates allegedly opened fire at Akash Mehra, owner of the widely known Krishna Dhaba in Srinagar.
Mehra later succumbed to his injuries. The incident had led to registration of FIR at Police Station Ram Munshi Bagh under provisions of the IPC, Arms Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
According to the judgment, the petitioner was a juvenile at the time of the alleged offence and had initially been lodged in the Juvenile Home at Harwan before being released on bail.
However, authorities later alleged that he again became involved in anti-national and subversive activities as an Over Ground Worker (OGW) linked with slain militants Riyaz Ahmad Dar alias Khalid alias Sheeraz and Rayees Ahmad Dar.
The Court observed that the attack was not an ordinary criminal offence but a terror-related incident aimed at spreading fear in Srinagar by targeting the owner of a prominent eatery heavily frequented by tourists and locals.
Rejecting the plea that the detenue’s young age should weigh in his favour, the Court held that the “age of the petitioner cannot count as an element of leniency” when the alleged activities posed a potential threat to the security of the Union Territory.
The Court also noted that in his representation, the petitioner had not denied his alleged association with the named militants. Reference was further made to an earlier order of the Fast Track Court for POCSO Cases, Srinagar, which had described the Krishna Dhaba shooting as a terror attack allegedly carried out as part of a conspiracy involving Pakistan-based handlers and local associates.
Justice Rahul Bharti concluded that the grounds for preventive detention could not be faulted with and dismissed the petition, holding it to be “meritless.”
