8,008 cases listed in HC during lockdown

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 21

As many as 8,008 cases have been listed from August 5 to September 16 in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court as the communication blockade continues in the region after the abrogation of Article 370.

An official at the court said the cases were being listed normally like in the past months without any hindrance after tension gripped the Valley.

“The number of cases that have been listed is like any other month. On our side, things are as per routine. We have been doing that after August 5,” the official said.

After a petition was filed in the Supreme Court (SC) that the access to the court was difficult for people, a top SC judge said that he had talked to the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Justice Gita Mittal.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing child rights activists Inakshi Ganguly and Shanta Sinha, who have alleged detention of children in Kashmir had, on September 16, told the apex court that people in the Valley were not able to approach the High Court there. The bench had then sought a report from the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

“We have received the report from the Chief Justice (of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court), which does not support your statement,” the bench, also comprising Justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer, told the council appearing for the petitioners.

At the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, 253 habeas corpus petitions have been filed from August 5 to September 19 and 37 of them were filed on a single day on August 27, the court records show.

In Kashmir, after the abrogation of Article 370, the authorities carried a large-scale crackdown on politicians, separatist leaders and protesters to prevent any demonstrations, arresting over 2,000 persons. Nearly 300 have been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), a law over which a person can be detained up to two years without bail. Even the three-time Chief Minister of the Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, has been booked under the law.

Most of the petitions have been filed by individuals, challenging the detention of people under the PSA.

From August 5 when tension began, the official said that the court had been functioning normally. However, he admitted that due to the strike call by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, the disposal of the cases had been affected which was leading to delay.