Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti has been in detention for over a year.
New Delhi:
Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija and her brother can meet their mother in detention, the Supreme Court today heard her daughter’s petition challenging the detention of the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir under the strict public security law (PSA).
“How long can Mehbooba Mufti be kept in detention,” the Supreme Court asked the administration of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has been in detention for more than a year after being arrested on the eve of the demolition of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into two territories of the ‘Union on August 5 last year.
The Supreme Court today gave the administration of Jammu and Kashmir two weeks to give its position on the length of Ms. Mufti’s detention and on the extension of her custody beyond one year.
“What is the proposal of the administration of Jammu and Kashmir on his detention,” said a bench of the Supreme Court led by Judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul.
In July, Ms. Mufti’s detention under the Public Security Act was extended for another three months.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represents the government, asked judges not to make any comments and said Jammu and Kashmir has a history of violence.
“The history of the state is wonderful, but what can be said. At first glance, you have exceeded the maximum period of detention,” Judge Kaul said.
Iltija Mufti had applied to the Supreme Court to request the release of her mother. She also asked the court for permission to file a habeas corpus, in order to produce Mehbooba Mufti in court. In her plea, Iltija Mufti says her mother’s detention is illegal and that the administration of Jammu and Kashmir has yet to file its response to her previous petition despite notification, which she said. said, shows the respect the authorities have for the court.
She also said that Mehbooba Mufti’s family members were not allowed to meet with her.
The higher court, during the videoconference hearing, said that whenever Iltija Mufti requests to meet with her mother, the relevant authorities should make a decision about it.
Former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, under house arrest since August last year, have already been released.
