Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 18: The High Court has today reserved its verdict on the PIL filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti seeking repatriation of under trial prisoners lodged in jails outside Jammu and Kashmir.
As earlier directed the counsel representing the petitioner-Mufti argued the matter on maintainability as PIL and the counsel appearing for Ministry of Home Affairs also argued to some length and opposed the PIL. He submitted before the bench that none of the fundamental rights as mentioned in the plea of petitioner-Mufti has been violated as also she has no locus to file PIL as none of the individual-prisoners have approached the court in this regard.
It is noted the court on November 3 before admitting the plea as PIL had asked the counsel to clarify as to how the present petition is maintainable as Public Interest Litigation. Today, the Division Bench of Chief Justice and Justice Rajnesh Oswal heard both the parties on maintainability of PIL and reserved the case for verdict.
The former Chief Minister approached the court seeking repatriation of unde-rtrial prisoners lodged in jails outside UT. As per the petitioner- Mufti, the continued detention of J&K undertrial prisoners in jails located hundreds of kilometers away violates their fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21.
She further added that most of the under trials cannot meet their family as the cost of such travels is enormous and is not possible to travel on a regular basis making the process of trial itself a punishment. Many trials involve voluminous evidence and large witness lists, requiring sustained, private, document-based consultation between lawyer and client and this becomes impossible in practice when the undertrial is housed in a far-off State prison,” the PIL reads.
The post HC reserves judgment on repatriation of under trials appeared first on Daily Excelsior.