The Jammu and Kashmir home department claimed to have revoked the Public Safety Act against three detenues after their detentions were challenged in the state High Court, The Indian Express reported on Thursday. The government made the claim on September 30 in its first three responses to more than 250 habeas corpus petitions filed against such detentions.
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey disposed of the three petitions the same day after the government’s response. “In that view of the matter, the petition does not survive, therefore, is disposed of as settled,” the order read in each case, according to The Indian Express.
One of the petitions was filed by the relatives of Asrar Yaqoob Pahlo, who was detained under the Public Safety Act on August 17. The government told the court that the charges were revoked on September 2, five days after the relatives moved the court claiming that the detention order was not passed in good faith.
Petitioner Zahid Firdous Mir was also relieved of the Public Safety Act charge on September 29, the government said. Mir had been detained under the law on August 8 and his relatives had moved court on September 2. In the third case, the Public Safety Act invoked on August 27 on Javid Ahmad Khan was revoked on September 28, the government said.
In the second and third case, the relatives had challenged the order on the ground that the activities of the detenues were not a threat to the security of the state.
As many as 147 habeas corpus writ petitions out of the 250 filed before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court have challenged the detentions under Section 22 of the Public Safety Act, claiming it was “not in good faith”, according to The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the state administration will on Thursday release three politicians who had been under detention since August 5, PTI reported. Former Peoples Democratic Party MLA Yawar Mir, National Conference worker Noor Mohammed and former Congress leader Shoaib Lone will be released on various grounds.
Last month, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had released Imran Ansari of the People’s Conference and National Conference leader Syed Akhoon on health grounds. The authorities had also “temporarily released” PDP leader Khursheed Alam after his brother’s death.
Reports said over a thousand people, including political leaders, separatists and activists were detained after the Centre’s August 5 order to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Three former chief ministers of the state – Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti – were also first put under house arrest and then detained. Farooq Abdullah was charged under the “public order” section of the Public Safety Act, which allows authorities to detain a person for six months without trial.
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