Srinagar, February 10: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s sister, Sara Abdullah Pilot, on Monday challenged his detention in the Supreme Court under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA). According to reports, the top Court will list it for hearing. It must be noted that this is the first court challenge to the detention of mainstream leader from Jammu and Kashmir. Pilot asked for the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister to be freed immediately.

Abdullah's sister claimed that her brother's arrest is a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech. According to a tweet by a senior journalist, the petition says “a reference to all the public statements and messages posted by Omar Abdullah during the period up to his first detention would reveal that he kept calling for peace and co-operation – messages which in Gandhi’s India cannot remotely affect public order”. Jammu & Kashmir's Ex-CMs Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti Booked Under PSA: Reports.

Take a Look at the Tweets:

"The PSA order conflates ‘Governmental policy’ with the ‘Indian State’, suggesting that any opposition to the former constitutes a threat to the latter. This is wholly antithetical to a democratic polity and undermines the Indian Constitution”, the petition read. Reports add that among other things, challenge to Omar Abdullah’s detention says there could be no material available to detain a person who has already been detained for the previous 6 months; that grounds for the detention are wholly lacking any material facts.

Abdullah has been detained since August 5, ever since the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, which granted special status to the state. He was detained without charges since then and was formally placed under detention under the PSA later.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 10, 2020 11:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).