Mehbooba Mufti raises concern over undertrials lodged outside Kashmir

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday (Dec 26) expressed serious concern over the condition of undertrial prisoners from Kashmir who have been lodged in jails outside the Union Territory for several years, alleging neglect by both the administration and the judiciary.

Mufti said many of the families of these undertrials lack the financial means to travel long distances to meet their relatives or pursue legal remedies. “These people are undertrials, not convicts. Some of them have been in jail for five to six years without trial,” she said, adding that such treatment violates basic legal principles.

She noted that courts had acknowledged the prisoners’ status as undertrials but failed to provide relief. According to Mufti, the High Court dismissed a petition seeking intervention and instead asked the affected individuals to file cases themselves. “How will they do it when they don’t even have the resources to reach the courts?” she asked.

Mufti claimed that around 1,260 people from Kashmir are currently lodged in various jails, many of whom remain unidentified and unsupported. While prominent detainees receive attention, she said, poorer prisoners are left without legal or social assistance.

The PDP chief also expressed disappointment that the issue was not raised in Parliament, stating that information sought from the administration and police regarding the detainees was not provided. She said the elected government could have compiled and shared these details, and its MPs could have raised the issue in the Parliament.

Responding to criticism that she was politicising the matter, Mufti said such allegations were “ironic,” stressing that her concern stems from firsthand knowledge of the suffering endured by affected families. “I will not let this issue rest,” she said.

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Mufti appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, his government, and Members of Parliament from Jammu and Kashmir, including Ruhullah Mehdi, to intervene. She argued that not all detainees pose security risks and that many could be shifted back to jails within Kashmir.

Expressing disillusionment with the judiciary, Mufti said public faith had been shaken but added that efforts would continue. “We will take up this case again and will not abandon these people,” she said, urging the Chief Minister to personally step in.