Former Jammu & Kashmir’s Chief Minister & J&K’s Political Party National Conference’s Chairman Farooq Abdullah has been booked under Public Safety Act and has been confined Under House Arrest for yet another 3 months.
NC Chairman Farooq Abdullah, NC Leader Omar Abdullah & Peoples Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti, the political leaders of Jammu & Kashmir has been under house arrest since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on 5th August. The political leaders were kept under house arrest for almost 24 hours before the declaration of repealing of Article 370 was announced in the Lok Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah on 5th August. This was done to avoid any nuisance in the streets of J&K. The political leaders formerly supported BJP, but since the matter came to the state of J&K, it was crucial to keep them off grounds as they might cause a public revolution in the state which might lead to chaos and riots.
The 81-year-old former CM Farooq Abdullah has been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA). The Charges were framed on the day when the Supreme Court heard Vaiko’s plea against Abdullah’s ‘illegal detention’. He has been detained under the charges of disturbing public order under the PSA act. The punitive act of keeping Abdullah under detention is an irony because the stringent ‘Public Safety Act’ was enacted by Farooq Abdullah’s Father, Sheikh Abdullah. The Act empowers the central government to detain a person for up to two years without any trial if the person is perceived as a threat to public safety and general peace. It is for the first time that a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir has been booked under the Act.
Farooq Abdullah’s was framed on charges of disturbing public safety and peace by the supreme courts, after the hearing of a petition. The “habeas corpus” petition that challenged the ‘Illegal Detention’ of Abdullah was filed by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko. It was heard by a three-judge bench. Vaiko wanted a response from the Central & the state administration alleging that Abdullah’s constitutional rights were being infringed upon with his detention for over a month without any authority of law. After the hearing of the case, Abdullah was booked lawfully under the PSA & the apex court has ordered for his detention for yet another 3 months. The next hearing of the case will be held on 30 September.
Apart from this, on Monday, Supreme Court has ordered a report from J&K High court Chief Justice Gita Mittal regarding the situations in the state; the court ordered the report after the allegations of Huzefa Ahmadi regarding the general public-facing problems in reaching the high court. Ahmadi forwarded the argument for advocating Enakshi Ganguly and Shanta Sinha who work as Child Rights Activists. The two have filed a plea for children and teenagers of the region were facing serious hardship in the state during the statewide shutdown.
On his plea, Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi said “If required, I will go and check. I will speak to the chief justice today.” Further, the Supreme Court has warned Ahmadi that he may face serious legal consequences if the allegations were found to be false or fake.
The state has been under shut-down since 1 and a half month for now. The government and the military forces have been making efforts to restore normalcy in the states. Schools, Colleges, Universities, Offices, Shops, & even hospitals are shut. People are not allowed to roam freely on the streets. It is being sought as the statewide curfew. However, looking at the past events that have taken place in Kashmir over the years, it is a sincere approach to maintain stringent control in the area to avoid any kind of nuisance, riots, or public violence, etc.
Further, during the hearing of the petition, Solicitor general Tushar Mehta who is representing Central Government in the case assured that not even a single bullet has been fired in the state, and there has been no loss of life during the curfew.
However, the Supreme Court has asked the central and the state government administration to restore normal conditions and smooth functioning of daily life in the state including schools, hospitals and public transport.
