The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday questioned the maintainability of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for repatriation of prisoners lodged in prisons outside the Union Territory (Mehbooba Mufti vs Union of India)
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal, in the order passed on November 3, said,
"Having argued the matter at some length, learned counsel for the petitioner prays for further time to prepare and argue the petition."
During the hearing, Advocate Aditya Gupta, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, submitted that a large number of undertrials from Jammu and Kashmir were shifted to prisons outside the UT after abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
This has made legal consultations, family meetings and effective participation in trials extremely difficult, the Court was told.
The counsel further argued that many of the prisoners lodged outside J&K come from economically-weak backgrounds, which makes long-distance travel for their family members nearly impossible. He said this was turning the judicial process itself into a punishment.
However, the Court questioned how Mufti was aggrieved in the matter. It also referred to the rules for filing of a PIL
“What is the meaning of PIL? How are you aggrieved?”, it asked.
When the counsel responded that the undertrials were unable to approach the Court themselves, the bench referred to relevant judicial precedents on PIL maintainability.
It also remarked that while the Court had “opened one door” to hear the matter, the petition had not yet been entertained and would require satisfaction on locus standi before it could proceed any further.
The matter was then adjourned for further arguments on November 18.
In her petition, Mufti has contended that the practice of housing J&K undertrial prisoners in far-off jails violates their fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
Mufti has cited Supreme Court rulings and the Model Prison Manual to highlight the constitutional and humanitarian obligations of the State.
[Read Order]