Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have charged a leading human rights activist under a controversial security law, immediately taking him back into custody after a local court had ordered him freed from police detention.

Police on Thursday said that Khurram Parvez was formally booked on Wednesday night under the Public Safety Act that allows detention for up to six months without a trial.

Police gave no other details.

The arrest comes amid the largest protests against Indian rule in Kashmir in recent years, sparked by the July 8 killing of a popular rebel commander by Indian soldiers. The protests, and a sweeping military crackdown, have all but paralysed life in Indian-controlled Kashmir. More than 80 people have been killed in the protests.