Shifting of PSA detainees from J&K jails involves national security: Centre tells SC

The Central government told the Supreme Court on Monday that the matter of the shifting of more than 20 prisoners to jails outside the Union Territory, where they were detained under the Public Safety Act in Jammu and Kashmir, was related to national security.

The apex court has fixed the next hearing of the case on 5 April.

The Supreme Court heard the petition of Srinagar resident Raja Begum and three others. The petitioners, through their lawyer, Satya Mitra, challenged the shifting of prisoners to jails outside the UT.

They said that transferring these detainees to different jails in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana is a violation of Jammu and Kashmir law.

As per the plea, people detained under the local law can’t be shifted outside the Union Territory, as the statute is applicable to the Union Territory only.

The lawyer appearing for petitioners said during the hearing that the family members are not able to communicate with the arrested prisoners.  They belong to a poor background, and some sort of communication should be made.

Arif Ahmad Sheikh, the son of Raja Begum, a resident of Parimpora in Srinagar, has been shifted to the Central Jail in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was booked under the PSA on 7 April 2022.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made it clear in court that we will follow the instructions but these arrested prisoners are in fact a serious matter of national security. It is not as simple as communication between two people.