Abdullahs challenge house detention of NC leaders

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) President and Srinagar MP Farooq Abdullah and his son, party Vice-President and former CM, Omar Abdullah, have moved the High Court against the detention of 16 NC leaders and functionaries, calling it 'unconstitutional and illegal'. Political leaders in the valley were detained by the Centre post abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35-A on August 5, 2019.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) President and Srinagar MP Farooq Abdullah and his son and party Vice President Omar Abdullah on Monday filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court challenging the 'unconstitutional and illegal' house detention of 16 NC leaders and functionaries.

As per the statement issued from the party headquarters, Farooq Abdullah has filed a petition for the release of Ali Mohammad Sagar, Abdul Rahim Rather, Nasir Aslam Wani, Aga Syed Mehmood, Mohammad Khalil Bandh, Irfan Shah and Sahmeema Firdous from house detention, while Omar Abdullah has challenged the detention of Mohammad Shafi Uri, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzaan, Mubarak Gul, Bashir Veeri, Abdul Majeed Larmi, Basharat Bukhari, Saifudin Bhat Shutru and Mohammad Shafi through their counsel advocate Shariq Reyaz.

Party spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said the decision to move to the court has been taken as a last resort to provide relief to various party members who have continuously been under house arrest or have been kept under house detention after being shifted from detention centres.

"Shifting of the detainees from detention centres to their homes only characterised revolving-door detention practice. Quashing of the PSA on party General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar underscored the indefensible nature of all detentions in the court of law, leading us to believe that the administration will release all the detainees in the absence of any convincing reason.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. The house detentions without any administrative orders are unlawful, undermining the due respect to human rights and individual liberty," he said.

"We are hopeful that the court will come to the rescue of our colleagues, who have been suffering for no fault of theirs ever since the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35-A on August 5, 2019. This was the only recourse left to us. We are hopeful that the court will uphold the civil liberties of our colleagues, most of whom have not been keeping well," Dar said.

IANS