Srinagar, March 05,: Supreme Court of India on Thursday deferred the hearing on a petition challenging the detention of former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, for the second time, after it was deferred till 5th March, 2020 on its last hearing held on 2nd March.
The petition was moved by Sara Abdullah Pilot, sister of Omar Abdullah, accusing JK Administration of usurping the ‘right to liberty’ of her brother by placing him under PSA, despite him being under detention for the period of last six months.
The matter will now be taken up on 17th March 2020. The bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra told Kapil Sibbal, representing the petitioner Sara Abdullah Pilot that no proceedings will take place on Thursday as the CB will be sitting throughout the day.
According to CNS, on its last hearing on 2nd March, 2020, the two judge bench of Supreme Court, comprising of Justice Indrani Benrji and Arun Mishra, headed by the latter, while conducting the proceedings on a petition challenging the detention of former Chief Minister of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah under Public Safety Act (PSA), heard the objections of government through Attorney General Tushar Mehata.
Tushar Mehta on previous hearing had told court that the petitioner before filing the petition in Supreme Court has not approached High Court.
Pertinently court, in its hearing, prior the one on 2nd March, had issued a notice to Jammu and Kashmir government to submit its objections, in connection with the plea made by the petitioner.
While representing the petitioner Sara Abdullah, on 5th March, senior Supreme Court lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal requested the court to expedite the proceedings; however the court refused to accept and said in its response that the Court was ready to examine the validity of PSA, slapped against Omar Abdullah and fixed 5th, March as the next date of the hearing.
The decision of the court to defer the hearing yet again for the second time on Thursday has disappointed the petitioner side, which expected some headway in the proceedings today.
Presently three former Chief Ministers, Farooq Abdullah, Omar and Mehbooba Mufti are facing detention since 5th August 2019, after the revocation of Article 370 and all the three have been slapped with PSA, under which a detainee can be held for a period two years.
