Jammu- People's Democratic Party (PDP) President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday made a heartfelt appeal outside the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, seeking the return of prisoners from the Union Territory who are lodged in jails across India.

Addressing the media after attending the hearing of her Public Interest Litigation before the Chief Justice, Mehbooba described the courts as the last hope for those families who have been separated from their loved ones for years.“Courts are our last hope,” she said, her voice filled with emotion.“Behind every number and every case, there is a story, a mother waiting for her son, a father growing old in silence, a child sleeping each night without knowing when their parent will return.”

She said the issue of detainees was not political but deeply humanitarian, arguing that the young men imprisoned outside Jammu and Kashmir were not statistics but sons of the soil who deserve dignity, justice, and a chance to rebuild their lives.

“For years, hundreds of our youth have been lodged in prisons far from their homes, in Agra, Bareilly, Haryana and other states. Their families neither have the means nor the strength to travel such long distances. Trials are delayed, hearings are held in their absence, and justice remains out of reach. This is not the idea of India that our Constitution envisions,” she said.

Mehbooba Mufti urged the Chief Justice to initiate comprehensive reforms in the criminal justice system of Jammu and Kashmir, saying that prisoners should be lodged within their home region so that their families can visit them and they can face a fair trial. She said that delayed trials amounted to denial of justice and called for transparency and presence of the accused at every hearing.

Reiterating her faith in the judiciary, she said,“Detention should be the exception, not the rule. Bail is a right, not a favour. Parole, remission and furlough are legal safeguards, not political concessions. Prisons should reform lives, not destroy them.”

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