The Supreme Court has asked the Union Government for responding to the allegation that the leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami was kept under detention without any formal order in 2019 in the aftermath of the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
A bench consisting Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Rajesh Bindal were hearing a petition under Habeas corpus filed by CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in 2019 against the detention of Tarigami, a four-time MLA from Kulgam in the J&K assembly.
The Court recorded in its order that the Respondent 1 should respond to the details of the (Tarigami’s) alleged illegal detention.
The ASG stated that he will file an affidavit dealing with these allegations in two weeks from today.
Additional Solicitor General of India KM Nataraj during the hearing told the Bench that nothing survived in the petition, as Tarigami was released.
The petitioner was represented by Advocate Shadan Farasat, who drew the Bench’s attention to an order dated September 16, 2019 which kept the petition alive to decide the validity of the alleged detention.
Advocate Farasat said that he would urge for the grant of compensation to Tarigami as a matter of restoration of his dignity and not necessarily for the sake of seeking a monetary compensation.
The counsel for petitioners told the court that if I am able to convince my Lordships that the detention is illegal, I am on the aspect of dignity, not essentially, for money or compensation. Because if there’s an illegal detention without the order, that has to be done”,
The mater will be next come up for hearing on April 18.
In August 2019, the Supreme Court in allowed Sitaram Yechury to travel to Kashmir to meet the detained party leader to ascertain his whereabouts and medical welfare.
The Court in September 2019, ordered the shifting of Tarigami to AIIMS Delhi.Yechury had said that he was concerned about the health of the then-72-year-old-Tarigami.
On September 16, 2019, the court was informed of Tarigami’s discharge summary from AIIMS. The bench then proceeded to order that Tarigami was at liberty to return to his home state.
What is important to note is that the bench declined Tarigami to move free in J&K as he pleased.
The bench had also recorded in its order passed on September 16, 2019 as follows :”The writ petition is kept open for a decision on the validity of the alleged detention of the petitioner claimed to be without any authority of law with effect from 5.8.2019″