AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi sharply criticised Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent promise to repeal the Public Safety Act (PSA) once statehood is restored, reminding him that the controversial law has been misused for decades under successive governments — including those led by his own family.
Responding to Abdullah’s remarks, Owaisi said the PSA, introduced in 1978 by Sheikh Abdullah to curb smuggling, has long served as a repressive tool rather than a protective measure. “The Public Safety Act, 1978, was brought in by Sheikh Abdullah. Since then, Farooq Abdullah, G M Shah, Mufti Sayeed, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti have all been Chief Ministers. They all had the power to repeal it, but didn’t,” Owaisi said.
He accused both elected and unelected administrations of exploiting the Act, which allows detention without trial for up to two years. “Every Chief Minister and Governor has misused the PSA. More than 20,000 people have been detained under it since 1978 — many without charges, trials, or any fair appeal mechanism. Some remained in detention for as long as seven to twelve years,” he said.
Owaisi also cited examples of arbitrary use of the law, alleging that authorities have used it to suppress dissent and silence political opponents. “One day, a person is detained under PSA, and the next day, released on bail when convenient. Now, when a weakened elected government talks about scrapping it, the timing itself exposes the hypocrisy,” he remarked.
Earlier, Omar Abdullah had vowed that his government would abolish the PSA through an ordinance immediately after statehood was reinstated. “We have clearly stated in our manifesto that the Public Safety and Security Act will be removed from Jammu and Kashmir. Once statehood is restored and we regain control over law and order, we will not wait for an assembly session. We will repeal the PSA through an ordinance,” Abdullah had said.
The PSA, one of Jammu and Kashmir’s most debated laws, has faced decades of criticism from rights groups for enabling preventive detentions without trial, often targeting political activists, journalists, and youth in the region.
