SC will consider Valley student's affidavit on Sept 16

The Supreme Court on Thursday took note of an affidavit filed by a Delhi law student, who recently returned from Kashmir, and said it would consider all the issues mentioned in the document on September 16.

On August 28, the apex court allowed Mohd Aleem Syed, a law student from Jamia Millia Islamia, to visit his parents in Anantnag in the Valley and asked him to file an affidavit on return.

His counsel placed an affidavit in a sealed cover before a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices S A Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer.

"We have gone through your affidavit. We will consider all the issues mentioned in it on September 16," the bench told advocate Sanjay Hegde who appeared for the student.

The apex court also issued a notice to the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration on his petition and tagged it with other petitions in which identical issues were raised.

"The affidavit in sealed cover be kept in safe custody of secretary-general," said the bench.

Syed had said in his plea that he is a permanent resident of Anantnag and had not received any information about his parents since August 4-5. The Centre announced its decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status and downsize the state into two union territories on the morning of August 5.

Syed said he suspected his parents had been detained in Kashmir as he was not able to contact them by any means or manner.

He contended that the information blackout and restrictions on the movement of people was violative of fundamental rights granted under the Constitution.