Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah detained under Public Safety Act

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA). It is to be noted that the veteran National Conference leader has been kept under house arrest ince August 5 when the Centre abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The decision to detain Farooq Abdullah was taken on Sunday night. Under PSA, the government gets the power to detain a person for upto 2 years without a trial. Though Farooq Abdullah has been detained under PSA, there will be no bar on him meeting relatives and friends at his Srinagar residence, which has been converted into a subsidiary jail.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir administration seeking response on a plea filed by MDMK leader Vaiko seeking release of Farooq Abdullah. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices S A Bobde and S A Nazeer issued notice and said that it will next hear this matter on September 30.

Vaiko, who said he is a close friend of Abdullah for the past four decades, has contended that constitutional rights conferred on the National Conference leader had been deprived of on account of "illegal detention without any authority of law".

In his plea, Vaiko has said that the veteran leader had agreed to attend the function to mark 111th birth anniversary of Annadurai in Chennai on September 15 but he has been unable to get in touch with Farooq Abdullah because he has been under illegal detention since August 5. Vaiko also mentioned in his petition that he had also urged the Jammu and Kashmir administration to allow him to meet the National Conference leader but he did not receive any reply from their side. Vaiko also urged the SC to issue a notice to the Centre and order the government to release Farooq Abdullah from 'illegal' detention.