Shah Faesal was sent back to Srinagar, where he was placed under house arrest

Shah Faesal, the IAS topper from Kashmir whose detention soon after the scrapping of Kashmir's special status triggered outrage, was instigating crowds at the Srinagar airport, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has told the Delhi High Court today. This is why he was detained, Jammu and Kashmir administration said after it was asked to respond to Shah Faesal's petition.

Shah Faesal, who recently announced his intention to join politics, was detained at the Delhi airport on August 14, as he was about to fly abroad. He was sent back to Srinagar, and detained.

On August 12, a Look Out Circular -- under which one is not allowed to leave the country -- was issued against him by the Intelligence Bureau. Questioning Shah Faesal's contention that he was on way to the US to complete his studies at the Harvard University, the government said he was travelling on a tourist visa and not a student visa.

The government said on August 14, while on way to Delhi from Srinagar, Shah Faesal had started addressing the crowd at the airport, instigating them. "Hence, as per the orders of a Magistrate, he was detained".

Shah Faesal had been one of the most vocal critic of the government's move to end Jammu and Kashmir's special status and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories.

A qualified doctor, Mr Faesal quit IAS in January to protest against what he called "unabated killings" in Kashmir and the "marginalization of Indian Muslims".

He became the first person from the state to top the civil services exam in 2009.