New Delhi: Senior Advocate Tushar Mehta, the Solicitor General, today informed the Supreme Court that the detention of Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom will not extend beyond August 6, when it is due to expire. However, the court has asked him to find out if the government was willing to release him earlier on bail.
The ageing lawyer was detained under the J & K Public Safety Act, 1978 on August 5 last year, the date of the abrogation of Article 370 in the erstwhile state.
Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave and Vrinda Grover, who have filed a Habeas Corpus petition for the production and release of Qayoom, argued he should be released forthwith, as every day of illegal detention is an unconstitutional curtailment of the petitioner’s liberty.
Dave also pointed out that the government has no power anyway to extend the detention and that the petitioner was covered by the judgments of the Supreme Court. In that view, it was prayed that the Qayoom at least be released on bail immediately.
The bench asked Mehta to seek instructions whether the government was willing to release Qayoom immediately on conditional bail till August 6, after which the detention order no longer survives.
The matter has been listed now for Wednesday.
– India Legal Bureau