Senior advocate and chairperson of the J&K High Court Bar Association, Nazir Ronga, was detained by J&K police and booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), his family said on Thursday.
The PSA allows the government to detain a person without trial for up to one year.
“We have been told by police that he has been booked under PSA and shifted to Jammu jail,” Umair Ronga, son of the chairperson of the J&K High Court Bar Association, told UNI.
Earlier the day, Umair, who is also an advocate at the Srinagar High Court, said police arrested his father from home during a mid-night raid.
“My father, Adv. N.A. Ronga, the Chairman of the J&K High Court Bar Association, has just been arrested in a deeply disturbing turn of events. At 1:10 am, a contingent of J&K Police arrived at our home without any arrest warrant, merely stating, “It’s an order from above” (“uper se order hai”),” Umair Ronga posted on X.
“We are left in a state of shock and profound distress. We can only hope this is not another instance of the PSA being misused to intimidate the members of the J&K High Court Bar Association,” he added.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police was yet to issue a statement over Ronga’s detention.
Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti hit out at the government of India, saying Ronga is the latest victim of its “oppressive actions.”
“The cycle of violence continues unabated in J&K, and that too in areas which rarely witness militancy. Every day, soldiers are being martyred. The GOI has not only failed to end militancy but is venting its frustration by launching a vicious crackdown on helpless Kashmiris. Nazir Ronga is the latest victim of its oppressive actions,” she said in a post on X.
All Party Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that it is unfortunate that the “policy of repression” and “instilling fear” among people continues to be “pursued by those in power.”
“Nazir Sahab is a senior member of the AAC (Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz), and his arrest has caused great anguish and concern to him and the party members. … he continued to work with the party for the realisation of its objectives of peaceful resolution of the conflict through engagement and dialogue,” Mirwaiz said in a statement.
“As a lawyer, he served people with consideration and empathy and won their respect, and as president of the bar association to which he was elected multiple times, he followed the approach of conciliation and discussion in dealing with matters. To arrest him in such a manner in the middle of night even without a warrant, is highly regrettable,” Mirwaiz said.
The former president of the High Court Bar Association, Ronga,’s arrest comes days after the lawyers’ body dropped a paragraph from its constitution and called for “working towards a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute.” On Wednesday, the Bar Association issued a notice seeking nominations for election of its office-bearers.
The J&K government has since 2020 disallowed Bar from holding elections under Section 144 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), citing its alleged “secessionist ideology.”
Last month, former Bar Association president Mian Qayoom was arrested in connection with the 2020 killing of advocate Babar Qadri.
