The J&K High Court is likely to pass directions on March 6 in a petition filed by Hurriyat chairman and the Valley’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on alleged restrictions on his movement and “denial of permission” to attend Friday prayers at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid.
The court on February 21 granted the Lieutenant Governor’s administration “the last and final opportunity” to file its reply and elaborate on the reasons behind placing the 50-year-old cleric under “house arrest” in Srinagar.
In September last year, Mr. Farooq approached the court through his legal aide seeking order or direction to the J&K authorities to release “from illegal and unauthorised detention”. The petition claimed Mr. Farooq remains detained or house arrested at his Nigeen residence in Srinagar “without any order or authority in law” since August 2019, when the Centre revoked J&K’s special status.
