Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Days after Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha claimed separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was free and can go anywhere, Mirwaiz has served a legal notice to the Jammu and Kashmir administration and demanded his release.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference has been restricted to his home for the last four years in Nigeen on the outskirts of the city. He has sent the legal notice to Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta.
Mirwaiz has sent the notice through his counsel Nazir Ahmad Ronga. Ronga has said that his client is the leading religious and Islamic figure of Jammu and Kashmir and is a scholar and preacher known for his integrity and humanity, who preaches the message of peace and love, strengthening of brotherhood and communal harmony. His endeavours to promote good over bad, and eradicate evil and malice are well acknowledged.
"My client has been detained illegally without serving any order of detention upon him. He is not allowed to move outside his residence, as a large contingent of police personnel have been deployed therein to curb his movement. He has not been even informed as to why he has been detained nor has any ground of detention been provided to him," Ronga said in the notice.
"The liberty of my client has been curtailed in an arbitrary manner as such, therefore the said illegal and unwarranted detention is against the basic structure of the principles of natural justice embedded under legal maxim Audi Alteram Partem. Thus, it has become abundantly clear that my client is being condemned unheard in sheer violation of his fundamental rights," added Ronga.
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"It is of paramount importance to highlight the miseries, mental torture, and sense of insecurity, especially the violation of my client’s religious rights which rights though have been guaranteed by Articles 25-28 to everyone, but my client has been deprived of not only religious rights but his liberty curtailed," it said.
"My client has been experiencing all this for the last four years incessantly on account of his illegal detention by the state authority. All this has been done in view of events and episodes post abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A which is violative of Articles 21 and 25-28 and that requires to be prevented under law. No attempt should be tolerated to fiddle with the sanctity of law which protects everyone equally as all are equal among equals, but my client is being given a different treatment, he is being discriminated in all respects. And he is being deprived of what has been guaranteed to him by the law governing the subject," it said.
Manoj Sinha claimed in two interviews that Mirwaiz was free to go anywhere, but due to his security threat, he has been provided security at his request. The notice said that Mirwaiz suffered an irreparable loss in terms of various and serious health issues which he has been experiencing and confronting since his detention till now, but it seems that it also has had no impact on state administration.
"You are therefore through the medium of this legal notice requested to lift/remove the restrictions imposed upon the movement of my client through the deployment of a large contingent of security forces outside his Nigeen residence as the illegal and unauthorized detention of my client has curtailed his life and liberty guaranteed to him under Article 2. Besides you are called upon not to impose restrictions upon my client to participate in religious ceremonies/activities and not to prevent him to preach his religion and to perform his religious duties particularly participating in congregational prayers on Fridays at Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta, Srinagar," it said.
