It’s been 30 days since the shutdown and communication blockade was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir but Inspite of Indian media stoic silence on Valley Politics in India .,
J&K People’s Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija has filed an instant writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking the enforcement of her fundamental rights under Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
In her petition, Iltija has sought the Supreme Court’s intervention and protection to enable her to freely visit her mother, converse in privacy with and regain access to her mother who has been detained by the central government since August 5, 2019.
In the petition she states that, mother was detained around 6.30 pm on August 5, 2019, after being taken from her residence with the district magistrate also being present.
She states in her petition that her mother was instructed to pack some clothes and leave immediately accompanying the uniformed personnel who had come to their home.
It has been reported that her mother has now been made to stay inside a single-storey guest-house/hutment at Chashmashahi at the foot of the Zabarwan Hills. She has not met her mother since that day.
Iltija has appealed to the Supreme Court that she desires to meet her mother, inspect for herself the facility in which she has been detained and to be able to speak to her mother in privacy.
She said she has read reports her mother has been kept in solitary confinement and that too with poor sanitary facilities has caused grave distress to her.
Iltija said ever since August 6, she was placed in detention with no visitors being allowed and with her not being allowed to leave the home.
This form of an unwarranted and unlawful restriction of her movements, intimidation and hostility by many members of the Special Security Group (SSG) personnel continued till August 22, 2019, when she was allowed to fly out of Srinagar and to Chennai, to meet her aunt.
Iltija has stated her detention has had a chilling effect on the exercise of her freedoms under Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution and apprehends that her access to her mother in Srinagar will be interfered with by the unlawful acts of the Respondents’ authorities, if she ventures to do so.
She has stated in her petition that she fears that the authorities may impose similar unlawful, unjustified and arbitrary restraint and restriction on her movements, and treat her with unwarranted hostility if and when she reaches Srinagar.
In the petition Iltija has stated that she has no political affiliations other than being a daughter of her mother who is a politician and a public figure. There is no rationale for the State to apprehend that the her presence in Srinagar or her personal visit to her mother would in anyway aggravate the prevailing situation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
