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Created: 05 November 2019

JAMMU: Prof.Bhim Singh, Chief Patron of J&K National Panthers Party who is also Senior elected Executive Member of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in New Delhi has urged Shri Ramnath Kovind, the President of India for his immediate intervention to ensure that rule of law returns back in Jammu and Kashmir from the ghost rule. He urged the President of India pleading for his intervention since the Lieutenant Governor has no executive power to deal with the legal or political matters.

He expressed surprise that some senior politicians of recognized political parties have completed three months at different detention centres in Kashmir which include Centaur Hotel, Guest Houses in Kashmir Valley. The 31 mainstream politicians from different parties have been kept in Centaur Hotel for three months. The Detention Law does not allow confinement of any person (even non-citizen) to accede beyond 90 days and all the Kashmiri prisoners who have been in detention without trial or FIR cannot be lodged any longer under the laws. It is interesting that the Govt. of India has to clear a hotel bill of Rs.2.63 crores in Kashmir for looking after 31 political prisoners till this day.

Prof.Bhim Singh has urged the President of India that no person can be detained without trial for more than 90 days (three months) and continuation of detention in Govt. hotels or in private houses shall be illegal, unconstitutional which shall amount to violation of fundamental rights as Chapter-III on fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution is applicable in Jammu and Kashmir since August 5, 2019 the day President of India abolished Article 35-A which was only a Presidential Order issued on May 14, 1954 by the then President of India.

The detention of all those persons under J&K Public Safety Act/Detention Act shall be illegal, unconstitutional and violative of fundamental rights within the command of Chapter-III of the Indian Constitution. He said that even the detention of other including three former Chief Ministers at other places shall be void, unconstitutional and the Constitution of India shall not allow that.

Prof.Bhim Singh also urged the President to issue appropriate orders extending application of Advocate Act, 1961 in J&K as per the judgment of a Supreme Court Division Bench in 2017 headed by the then Chief Justice of India, Mr. Justice T.S. Thakur.

He also urged the President of India to issue appropriate direction as the President is the only competent authority when J&K has been converted into Union Territories and Lt. Governor has no such power to intervene in such matters. The Sr. Advocate of Supreme Court urged the President pleading that he is the only competent authority to deal with all legal matters in particular vis-à-vis Jammu and Kashmir which has been deprived of its statehood status, unfortunately. He also urged the President to hold an urgent meeting of National Integration Council/of the representatives of all state recognized political parties in J&K including the Hurriyat Conference. He said that the President should not delay this process because the people in Jammu and Kashmir are in a highly deplorable situation which needs to be cured.

He said that reports reaching from Kashmir and Jammu deserve a serious attention of the President of India as the situation cannot be handled or cured by the ruling parties from Delhi. Jammu and Kashmir deserves an urgent attention of the President of India and all those detained under Public Safety Act can no longer be detained for a period beyond three months. This is the mandate of the Constitution of India and people in J&K deserve that treatment from the President of India who is governing the State of J&K under the Indian Constitution.