SC to consider on Monday plea by former minister's wife against his detention in J&K

The Supreme Court would on Monday consider a plea by former Union Minister Prof Saifuddin Soz's wife against his detention in Jammu and Kashmir with the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5, 2019.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee would take up the petition filed by Mumtazunnisa Soz on June 8.

In the petition filed by advocate Sunil Fernandes, Mumtazunnisa Soz contended the octogenarian leader has been illegally and arbitrarily detained for the past ten months purportedly under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 without having been provided with the materials indicating grounds for it.

"All efforts by him to obtain a copy of the detention order have been of no avail due to the illegal, arbitrary exercise of powers by the Jammu and Kashmir administration," she claimed.

Her plea claimed that the detention was not only illegal, malafide and unconstitutional, it was also extremely appalling.

The petitioner contended that the house arrest ordered against Prof Soz was also "arbitrary, whimsical and fanciful deserves to be quashed on the anvil of Articles 14, 21 and 22 of the Constitution".

She also pointed out Prof Soz has not committed a breach of peace, neither has he disturbed the public tranquility, nor is he likely to do any wrongful act that will occasion a breach of peace or cause any disturbance of public tranquility.

Several senior politicians of Jammu and Kashmir were put under detention in August, last. Former Ministers Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah were subsequently released. Former Chief Minister Mahbooba Mufti's daughter Iltija has also challenged her mother detention before the top court.