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Jammu, Nov 3 (IANS) Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday appeared in the Jammu High Court in connection with a PIL seeking return of all undertrials from outside jails to the Union Territory.
Mufti had filed a PIL before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, urging it to order the return of undertrial prisoners from outside jails to the Union Territory.
The petition titled Mehbooba Mufti vs Union of India seeks immediate judicial intervention to address what it describes as a violation of the fundamental rights of the detainees.
Through her lawyer, Mufti has argued that after August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated and Jammu and Kashmir was converted into a Union Territory, many undertrial prisoners were transferred to jails in distant states. The PIL said keeping them in custody hundreds of kilometers away hampers their court access, family meetings and lawyers’ conferences and imposes huge travel expenses on the families.
The petition argues that such detention violates the rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, particularly the rights to equality, family contact, effective legal aid and fair and speedy trial.
He further said that undertrials cannot meet their families because the cost of such visits is very high, and it is not possible for relatives to visit regularly, making the trial process itself a punishment.
“The evidence is extensive and the list of witnesses is long, necessitating regular and confidential consultations between the accused and their lawyers. However, in practice this becomes impossible when the undertrial is lodged in a distant state prison,” the plea said.
It should be mentioned that in many cases, high-risk detainees are shifted to jails outside the UT due to security reasons.
Now after hearing the petition, instructions from the High Court are awaited.
–IANS
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