SRINAGAR: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Itija Mufti challenged her mother’s detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in Supreme Court on Wednesday. Iltija has challenged the February 5 detention order on the ground that it is completely based on a dossier prepared by the senior superintendent of J-K police and on personal remarks in bad taste.
“Iltija Mufti’s plea in the apex court further said the dossier only refers to expressions of opinion by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief in the past and does not suggest her involvement in any violent activity ever,” reported Hindustan Times.
Some such opinions of Mufti cited in the dossier are on opposition to the abrogation of Article 370 and law criminalizing triple talaq. Criticism of a law penalizing Muslims is listed as a ground though such utterances do not have the remotest possibility of inciting any disorder, the petition said.
Likewise, challenge to abrogation of Article 370 is something on which even the Supreme Court issued notice and is hearing. The unconstitutionality of article 370 is a view widely held by legal scholars and political scientists. However, Mufti is being prevented and punished for holding a similar view, the plea said.
The detention order is, therefore, a gag order in the guise of a preventive detention order, the plea said.
