Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 10: The High Court has directed for withdrawal of the security cover of three politicians including brother and sister of former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, and directed the Government to ensure that their liberty is not curtailed.
The three politicians – two from Awami National Conference Khalida Shah and Muzaffar Shah and a senior leader of National Conference Dr Mustafa Kamal – had approached the court that they are not being allowed to move freely.
Hearing an appeal filed by all the three against a judgment of writ court, the Division Bench of Justice D S Thakur and Justice Sanjeev Kumar directed the Government to withdraw the security personnel deputed at the residence of the three politicians.
Court said the suggestion for surrendering their security cover has been made by the court with a view to ensure that the liberty and free movement of the appellants is not curtailed. However, keep it open for the appellants to apply for such a security cover later in point of time.
Court said such request for security cover from the appellants would then be considered on its own merits by the respondents, according to the standard procedure. “In this regard, an affidavit, to show compliance, be filed by the Secretary Home, Union Territory of J&K, within one week, in the Registry of this court”, read the judgment.
The appellants were claiming that they had been placed under house arrest at their own residential house at 10 Moulana Azad Road, Srinagar, since 5th of August, 2019, unlawfully without any just cause or reason and in gross violation of their fundamental rights. It was alleged that the appellants had not been informed as to why they have been placed under house arrest.
From the records, it appeared that on 23rd of October, 2019, Senior Additional Advocate General, appearing for the State, produced a copy of the communication bearing No. DMS/Jud/APPIL/2019 dated 23.10.2019, written by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, to the Senior Additional Advocate General, enclosing thereby copy of the communication dated 21.10.2019, written by Senior Superintendent of Police, Srinagar, to the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, wherein it was stated that the appellants had neither been placed under house arrest nor their liberty is curtailed.
Counsel for the appellants, senior advocate Bashir Ahmad Bashir, however, questioned the stand of the respondents by urging that it would make no sense for the appellants to knock the doors of this court if actually they were either not placed under house arrest or their liberty not curtailed.
Considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and in view of the allegation that it was the security staff deputed at the residence of the appellants that was actually preventing the appellants from moving out of their residence, a suggestion was made whether the appellants were prepared to surrender their security so that they could be withdrawn from their premises.
Whereas this suggestion was readily welcomed by Government counsel Bashir Ahmad Dar, Sr. AAG, appearing for the respondents, the counsels for the appellants were initially reluctant to let go off the same. It was urged that the appellants are political figures who need to be protected. However, after sometime, Advocate Bashir, senior counsel appearing for the appellants expressed his no objections to such withdrawal of the police personnel from the premises in question.
“We are conscious of the fact that the respondents have provided security to the appellants for a considerably long period of time and that would have been done after having satisfied themselves that there was need for them to have such a security cover. We, however, do not know whether the respondents have ever reviewed the threat perception to the appellants to determine as to whether they require the security cover at all or the extent”, read the judgment.
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