HC dismisses Mehbooba Mufti’s PIL on transfer of prisoners from outside jails to J&K
Bench observed that the petition appeared to have been filed with the intent of garnering political mileage
The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti, seeking the transfer of prisoners lodged in outside jails to prisons in the Union Territory.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal, in a detailed 15-page order passed on Tuesday, observed that the petition appeared to have been filed with the intent of garnering political mileage rather than serving genuine public interest.
“It appears that the instant petition has been initiated by the petitioner for the explicit purpose of garnering political advantage and positioning herself as a crusader of justice for a particular demographic,” the Bench remarked.
In her petition, Mufti had contended that family members of prisoners face hardship as they are required to travel to other states to meet their relatives lodged in jails outside Jammu and Kashmir.
However, the court said it could not remain oblivious to the violent past experienced by the residents of Jammu and Kashmir due to forces hostile to the unity and integrity of the country. The Bench noted that even the petitioner acknowledged the special circumstances of the Union Territory by seeking detention of undertrials in J&K prisons unless jail authorities could demonstrate “unavoidable and compelling necessity” in exceptional cases.
“The detailing of such exceptional cases has been conveniently ignored by the petitioner,” the court observed.
The Bench further held that a PIL cannot be allowed to be used as an instrument for advancing partisan or political agendas or for converting courts into political platforms. “Public Interest Litigation is not a mechanism for gaining political leverage, and the courts cannot serve as a forum for electoral campaigns,” the order stated, adding that political parties have several legitimate avenues to engage with the electorate, but courts cannot be employed to secure electoral advantage.
While noting the “vagueness and ulterior motive” behind the petition, the court observed that the undertrials whose cause the petitioner claimed to champion are facing trials before competent courts. It pointed out that judicial remedies were available to such undertrials for redressal of grievances related to their detention.
“The omission on their part to avail themselves of these legal remedies is indicative of the fact that they are not genuinely aggrieved by their detention in prisons outside the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” the court said.
Emphasising that a PIL is maintainable only upon a prima facie demonstration of genuine public interest, the Bench said that where such interest is doubtful or compromised by extraneous considerations, courts must refrain from interference to prevent abuse of the legal process.
“In light of the above discussion, the present petition is found to be misconceived and is, accordingly, dismissed,” the court concluded. (With PTI inputs)
