SC Issues Notice On Habeas Plea Challenging Detention Of J&K Congress Leader Saifuddin Soz

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice on a habeas Corpus petition filed against the Government of Jammu and Kashmir's detention order of octogenarian Congress leader and former Union Minister Prof. Saifuddin Soz who has been under house arrest since 5th August, 2019.

A bench headed by Justices Arun Mishra issued the notice, after hearing Senior Advocates P Chidambaram and Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who submitted that Soz has been kept under detention for over 10 months without properly communicating to him the grounds of detention.

Singhvi insisted that the matter be taken up next week on an urgent basis as Soz is an 82-year old man. However, the SC refused to do so and listed the matte in the second week of July.

The petition, filed by Advocate-on-Record Sunil Fernandes on behalf of Prof. Soz's wife, Mrs. Mumtazunnisa Soz, states that "ten months have passed since his first detention, and he is yet to be informed of his grounds of detention. All efforts by him to obtain a copy of the detention order(s) have been of no avail due to the illegal, arbitrary exercise of powers by the Respondent No. 2."

The plea further contends that the detention is wholly contrary and perverse to the constitutional safeguards laid down under Article 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India, as well as the law on prevention detention. It is further in contravention of the statutory scheme of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 ["PSA Act"], under which the detention order has been purportedly passed.

It has been averred in the plea that there are glaring violations which surrounding the illegal detention of the detenu.