Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh will hear arguments on the maintainability of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, seeking the repatriation of all undertrials from Jammu and Kashmir who are currently lodged in different jails across the country.

As soon as the matter came up for hearing, a division bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal asked counsel representing Mehbooba to specify whether the petition was maintainable as a PIL under law. The court adjourned the matter to November 18.

In her plea, Mehbooba contends that the practice of lodging under-trials from J&K in distant prisons in other States, despite their FIRs and trials pertaining to jurisdictions within J&K, results in gross violation of their fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.

“Such detention severely curtails their access to family members and legal counsel, frustrates their right to an effective defence, and renders the guarantee of a speedy and fair trial illusory.”

Mehbooba says she has received numerous appeals from the families of such prisoners“who, due to financial hardship and long travel distances, are unable to visit their kin or attend court proceedings regularly, thereby compounding the trauma of both the prisoners and their dependents.”

“We urged the government on the issue of return of the undertrial prisoners who are lodged in jails outside J&K be brought to jails in J&K, but no action has been taken by the government as a result of which, the petitioner, in public interest has preferred the present petition,” the petition said.

“I humbly seek immediate intervention of this Hon'ble Court by writ of Mandamus, seeking immediate repatriation and direct respondents to transfer forthwith all undertrial prisoners belonging to J&K who are presently lodged in prisons outside the Union Territory to the jails within J&K,” she stated.

Mehbooba said the court should also be informed by the jail authorities about written reasons demonstrating“unavoidable, compelling necessity, to keep them outside jails.

In such exceptional cases, she said, there should be quarterly judicial review.

Mehbooba has urged the court to ensure family and counsel access protocol by“framing and enforcing an access protocol ensuring minimum weekly family interviews in person, unrestricted privileged lawyer-client interviews subject to reasonable regulations, and no denial on cost/escort pretexts”.

She pleaded that the Legal Services Authorities“should monitor compliance and file quarterly reports”.

The petition also seeks physical production of repatriated under-trials and fixing timelines for evidence recording and preventing adjournments attributable to custody logistics.

The plea also seeks constitution of a two-member oversight and grievance redress committee of retired district judge to“audit under-trial locations, family-contact logs, lawyer-interview registers, and production orders”. It should also recommend disciplinary action for non-compliance and submit bi-monthly status reports to the court.

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