253 habeas corpus pleas post lockdown

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 20

In the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, 253 habeas corpus petitions were filed from August 5 to September 19 and 37 of these were filed on a single day (August 27), court records show.

Habeas corpus is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention to a court and request that the court orders the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, to bring the detainee to the court, to determine whether the detention is lawful.

In Kashmir, after the scrapping of special status to the state, the authorities carried out a large-scale crackdown on politicians, separatists, and protesters to prevent any demonstration by arresting over 2,000 persons.

Around 300 persons have been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a law under which a person can been detained for up to two years without bail. Three-time Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has also been booked under the law.

Most of the petitions have been filed by individuals challenging the detentions made under the PSA.

An official maintained the court has been functioning normally even after the government’s August 5 move. He, however, admitted that the disposal of the cases has been affected due to strike by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association that has been going on since August 5.

“On our part, everything is normal. Cases are being listed, pleas filed and government lawyers are attending courts. But the lawyers associated with the Bar are abstaining from routine work,” the official said. They attend courts only when there is a hearing on some habeas corpus plea, he added.

“From August 5 to September 19, nearly 253 habeas corpus petitions have been filed in the HC (Kashmir cases alone),” the official said. “Seven petitions have been disposed of.” In all, 251 cases have been disposed of during the period,” another official said.