2 NC MPs move court, seek meeting with Farooq, Omar

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 7

Over a month after the detention of former Chief Minister and member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, two National Conference MPs have moved the J&K High Court seeking a meeting with their leaders.

Without issuing any notices to the respondents, the court in its verbal orders has observed that before proceeding into the matter, it is necessary to ascertain whether the two MPs have been prevented from meeting their party leaders as alleged by them in the petition.

In this regard, a single Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar, before whom the petition was listed on Friday, has asked Senior Additional Advocate General Javed Iqbal to “seek instructions from the state authorities” while listing the matter for further consideration on September 11.

“Before proceeding further in the matter it is necessary to first ascertain as to whether the petitioners have actually been prevented by the authorities from meeting their party president Dr Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah and it is true for what reasons,” the court observed. In the petitions the two MPs filed thorough their counsel MI Qadri and TA Lone, it has been prayed that the authorities be directed to allow and permit the petitioners to meet the incarcerated party leaders Dr Farooq and Omar Abdullah, who are under detention ever since the Centre abrogated J&K’s special status and downgraded the state into two Union Territories on August 5.

While former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, who is a sitting MP and also the National Conference president, has been detained in his Gupkar house since August 4 midnight, his son NC vice-president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been kept in solitary confinement at Hariniwas Guest House, which has been declared a sub-jail by the government.

The two MPs have prayed that the two detained leaders are not only their friends and colleagues but they are their legal advisers as well, adding that despite the requests to the authorities concerned in this regard, they have not been allowed to meet the two leaders till date. They have also citied Supreme Court directions wherein Sitaram Yechury was allowed to meet CPI (M) leader Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, who is also under detention.