The Jammu & Kashmir administration has reportedly issued orders revoking the detention of former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, who has been in detention since August 5, 2019.
The development follows a directive issued by the Supreme Court on March 18, asking the authorities of Jammu and Kashmir to take instructions on whether they intend to release Abdullah.
With this direction, the Court had adjourned a habeas corpus plea filed by Abdullah's sister, Sara Pilot, challenging the prolonged detention after the Government issued a fresh detention order under the Public Safety Act last month.
In a rejoinder affidavit filed by Pilot more recently, she had re-asserted that, “The entire exercise from the very inception is malicious, malafide, vexatious and suffers from manifest non-application of mind… and is liable to be quashed with immediate effect with exemplary costs/strictures … for such blatant and arbitrary abuse of power.”
Abdullah, and other political leaders from J&K, including his father Farooq Abdullah, were detained in the wake of the Central Government's move to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution of India in August last year.
Farooq Abdullah was also released by the Government earlier this month. PDP president, also a former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, however, still remains under detention as of now.
