NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday heard a batch of petitions from Jammu and Kashmir filed after the abrogation of Article 370 and allowed former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter to meet her in Srinagar, where she has been under detention for a month.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi allowed Mufti’s daughter Iltija to meet her after she submitted in the court that she had no problem in going to her Srinagar residence, but had not been able to move out freely there.
The court also ordered shifting of ailing CPI(M) leader Mohd Yusuf Tarigami to AIIMS in Delhi from Srinagar, where he is under house arrest. This order after party general secretary Sitaram Yechury told the bench that he had no objection if Tarigami was shifted to AIIMS.Last week the court had allowed Yechury to visit Kashmir to meet Tarigami while brushing aside the Centre’s argument that it might jeopardise the situation in the state.The court, however, fixed the pleas of Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin and others on the communication blockade in the state for hearing on September 16.
Bhasin told the bench that even after a month of scrapping of Article 370, it was not possible to publish as journalists were not allowed to move freely in the state. However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the editors of Kashmir Times chose not to publish their newspaper.
The Centre told the bench that a large number of newspapers were being published from Srinagar. Attorney General K K Venugopal told the court that step-by-step relaxation in restrictions was being allowed and that 80 per cent of landline telephones had started functioning in Kashmir.
Refuting the allegations of not giving adequate medical facilities, the AG said nearly 7 lakh patients attended OPDs, over 4,000 underwent major surgeries and 40,000 had minor surgeries in the Valley.
CPM welcomes apex court order
The CPI(M) politbureau welcomed the SC order allowing ailing party leader Mohd Yusuf Tarigami to be shifted to AIIMS-Delhi, accompanied by a family member. The party said his security has been given oral instruc-tions to keep him in de facto house arrest and therefore the SC has also issued a notice to the Centre “on the points raised in the affidavit in the habeas corpus writ”. The CPI demanded that the “brutal attack on democracy and democratic rights” must end in the Valley.
19 more telephone exchanges restored
A month after telephone services were snapped, the authorities on Thursday restored 19 more telephone exchanges. Landline connec- tions started working in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and Press colony in Srinagar early Thursday, officials said.There are around 100 phone exchanges in the Valley. The officials said no decision had been yet taken on restoration of mobile and Internet services on all platforms. There was more movement of private vehicles on city roads while public transport was off the roads across the Valley and markets remained closed.
‘Abdullahs feel hurt, won’t keep quiet’
Detained former CMs and NC leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah were feeling hurt and betrayed and won’t “keep quiet”, their family sources said. “Both Farooq and Omar are feeling betrayed,” they said. A few days prior to scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K into two UTs, Farooq, Omar and Justice (retd) Hasnain Masoodi had met PM Narendra Modi and “were assured that nothing would be done with J&K’s special status,” said their family source. The family members have met Omar thrice so far.