Jammu & Kashmir
Congress leader Saifuddin Soz to sue JK Admin over ‘unlawful detention’ since August 2019
Srinagar: A day after the Supreme Court of India announced that senior congress leader from Kashmir Saif-u-din Soz, was never detained or stopped to move out, the senior political leader has decided to sue the JK authorities for keeping him ‘unlawfully’ under house arrest since August last year, a report by The Indian Express said.
The report about his arrest appeared on Thursday after a group of journalists went to his residence for his interview regarding the court’s recent announcement. However, when the journalist reached there they were not allowed to talk to him and he was also stopped by the police personnel from speaking with media.
Did J and K govt LIE to the Supreme Court that Cong leader Saifuddin Soz is not detained and free to move around.. this is the video from this morning at Soz residence from @ShujaUH . Will govt tell the TRUTH? pic.twitter.com/HqxxMLNtQ3
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) July 30, 2020
A video of Soz standing on the wall compartment and talking to reporters is doing rounds on social media, however, police personnel behind him then shouts on him and drags him down from the wall in order to stop him from talking to the media persons.
The police personnel later shouted on the group of journalists asking them to leave the area.
The 82-year-old leader has been under informal house arrest since August, 2019, when the Centre ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir granted and bifurcated it into two union territories.
Appearing for the Soz’s wife, who had filed the appeal challenging his arrest, Congress’s veteran lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the house arrest is illegal and has been done without a single document.
“Soz is a law- abiding, peaceful Indian citizen. He has not committed any breach of peace. Keeping him under detention for a long time is a violation of his right to life and personal liberty,” Singhvi earlier told reporters when he was asked about the status of the filed case.
Soz has been under arrest since August 5, 2019, the petition filed by his wife read. It also said Soz was denied his right to make a representation against his arrest.
Pertinently, hundreds of political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, including former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were arrested in August last year and the stringent Public Safety Act was invoked against many of them.
In March, days before the countrywide lockdown was announced, the Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah were released, however, PDP chief and former JK Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was allowed to shift home, where she is still officially under detention.
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