Today, the supreme court gave two weeks’ time to the Jammu and Kashmir administration to give its stand on how long Ms Mufti can be kept in custody and whether her custody can be extended beyond one year.
The apex court today asked the centre and Jammu and Kashmir administration that “How long can Mehbooba Mufti be kept in custody”. The supreme court was hearing her daughter’s petition challenging the former Chief Minister’s detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).
The chief of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti has been in detention for over a year after was arrested on the eve of the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into two Union Territories on August 5 last year.
Today, the supreme court gave two weeks’ time to the Jammu and Kashmir administration to give its stand on how long Ms Mufti can be kept in custody and whether her custody can be extended beyond one year.
“What is the proposal of Jammu and Kashmir administration on her detention,” the bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked during the hearing through video-conferencing.
Ms Mufti’s detention was extended for another three months in July this year.
Representing the government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked judges not to make any observation and said Jammu and Kashmir has had a history of violence.
“The history of the state is wonderful, but what one can one say. Prima facie you have exceeded the maximum period of detention,” Justice Kaul remarked.
Iltija Mufti, daughter of Mehbooba Mufti, had approached the Supreme Court seeking her mother’s release. She also sought permission from the court for filing a habeas corpus, to produce Mehbooba Mufti in court. Iltija, in her plea, says her mother’s detention is illegal and that the Jammu and Kashmir administration is yet to file its reply to her earlier petition despite a notice. This shows the respect the authorities have for the court, she said.
Detained earlier under the same Public Safety Act (PSA), former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, have been released.
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