Habeas corpus is considered the most important writ power of a court. If someone has been illegally detained, whether by the state or by ot...
Habeas corpus is considered the most important writ power of a court. If someone has been illegally detained, whether by the state or by other parties, the court can order them to be produced within a specific period.
Habeas corpus helps the court to protect two of the most fundamental of rights guaranteed by a democracy: the right to life and the right to liberty. If someone has been detained illegally, their right to liberty has immediately been curtained. But an illegal detention could also put a person’s life in jeopardy. Hence the urgency that courts show when a habeas corpus petition is moved.
With regards to Kashmir, though, habeas corpus has become a merely cosmetic instrument. This reflects the abrogation of all democratic norms in the region ever since its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was cancelled on August 5 last year and the state of Jammu and Kashmir was split into two Union Territories.
Before the Centre dismantled Kashmir’s constitutional status, it detained hundreds of people. They included prominent politicians, three former chief ministers among them: Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. While the two Abdullahs were released in March, Mufti remains under official detention under the...
