The Supreme Court today i.e., September 5, 2019, allowed Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, to travel to Srinagar to meet her mother who is under detention for over a month.
The Special Bench comprising of Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi, JusticeS.A. Bobde and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer ordered that the "Petitioner may be permitted to go to Srinagar on the date of her choice and be free to meet her mother."
The order was passed after the Bench took on record the submission made by the Centre represented by Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the State does not intend to prevent Iltija from going to Srinagar.
Senior Counsel Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for the petitioner told the court that when Iltija was in Srinagar, she was not allowed to move out of the house to meet her mother.
While allowing Iltija to go to Srinagar, it was also prayed that she be allowed to move around in Srinagar. The court, however, said that the same shall be subject to requisite permissions from concerned authorities.
People's Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti was detained following the abrogation of Article 370 and revocation of the special status of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Her daughter Iltija Mufti moved the Supreme Court on September 4, 2019, seeking its help to meet her mother.
According to reports by the PTI, the relief sought in Iltija MUfti's petition is similar to the relief that the Court had granted to Sitaram Yechury last week as regards his meeting with detained CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami.
This is the third Habeas Corpus petition filed in the Supreme Court in relation to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Several political leaders in the valley have been detained including former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah of the NC, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP as well as bureaucrat turned politician Shah Faesal who was detained in the valley after being picked up from the Delhi Airport.
