SC hears Sara Pilot’s plea challenging brother Omar Abdullah’s detention; to be taken up on March 17
The PSA was invoked last month against Omar Abdullah and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, also a former chief minister, six months after they were taken into preventive detention in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.
The Supreme Court heard Sara Pilot’s plea Thursday challenging the detention of his brother and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah under the stringent Public Security Act (PSA). Pilot has sought immediate release of her brother. The matter will be heard next on March 17.
The bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee decided to hear the plea at an early date after the J&K administration told the bench “there was ample material and grounds to issue the impugned order of detention against” the former J&K Chief Minister “considering the past conduct and the possibility of such conduct being repeated on release and thereby prejudicing the public order in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
Omar’s sister Sara approached the Supreme Court calling his detention illegal. She said Omar had been in custody for six months, had no access to any form of public speech and expression and, therefore, there could be no reason/material to conclude that he may act in any manner prejudicial to maintenance of public order.
Omar Abdullah’s ability to “convince his electorate to vote in huge numbers” and Mehbooba Mufti being “referred (to) as ‘Daddy’s girl’ and ‘Kota Rani’” for “her dangerous and insidious machinations and usurping profile and nature” are among the reasons cited by the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration for invoking the stringent PSA against the two former chief ministers.
INDIAN EXPRESS