Published 23:24 IST, May 5th 2020
Detention of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti under Public Safety Act extended by 3 months
The detention of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti under the Public Safety Act (PSA) was extended by three months. She has been under detention since August 5, 2019.
On Tuesday, the detention of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti under the Public Safety Act has been extended by three months. The Srinagar District Magistrate issued a brief order regarding this barely a few hours before her present term under the PSA was set to expire. Meanwhile, the PSA of PDP leader Sartaj Madani and National Conference's Ali Mohammad Sagar was also extended by three months. On April 7, Mufti was shifted to her Gupkar Road residence in Srinagar amid the demand for her release. However, it was clarified that her residence had been declared as a 'Subsidiary Jail'.
PSA charges slapped against Mufti in February
Mufti was originally detained on August 5, 2019, when a presidential notification was issued making the Article 370 becoming virtually redundant. Thereafter, both the House of Parliament passed requisite legislation in this regard. Furthermore, the region was bifurcated into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. On February 5, she was booked under the stringent PSA. During her incarceration, the former J&K CM was reportedly kept at a government guest house in Chashma Shahi and a bungalow on Maulana Azad Road near Lal Chowk. While her daughter Iltija Mufti moved the Supreme Court in February challenging her detention, the hearing of the matter has been delayed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Reacting to the extension of her mother's detention, Iltija Mufti opined that the Centre was continuously stifling voices of reason since the abrogation of Article 370. According to her, this decision was not surprising and she dismissed the notion that this would end the debate on Article 370. Also, Mehbooba Mufti's political rival Omar Abdullah termed this as a "cruel and retrograde decision".
Updated 23:24 IST, May 5th 2020