Ishfaq Tantry
The Kashmir Bar president, advocate Mian Qayoom, has challenged before the Supreme Court the recent J&K High Court verdict upholding his detention under Public Safety Act.
The Special Leave Petition is expected to come up before a vacation bench of the Apex Court comprising Justice Sanjay Krishan Koul and Justice BR Gavai at 11.30am.
Qayoom, currently lodged at Tihar Jail and suffering from many ailments, has been under detention since August 5, 2019, following the abrogation of article 370 by the Centre.
On May 28, a division bench of J&K High Court comprising Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Vinod Chatterjee Koul had dismissed an appeal by Qayoom against his detention under the Public Safety Act.
While upholding his prolonged administrative detention since August 2019 by dismissing his appeal against the Single Bench order dated February 2, 2020, and his detention under the Public Safety Act, the Division Bench, however, suggested that the detained lawyer submit a representation declaring that he had “shunned” his ideology while also leaving it to the “discretion” of the government authorities concerned “to take a decision” on any such representation.
In the first week of June, the J&K police registered an FIR related to the social media criticism of the verdict by a division bench of the High Court.
Police in the statement had said that the information received “prima facie” revealed that the criticism of the judgment was not only aimed at demeaning the judges of the High Court but also causing disharmony in the general public. So far many people, including lawyers have been questioned in this regard. (TNS)
