Omar, Mufti Likely To Be Shifted To Houses

Detention of former CMs under Section 107 of CrPC has lapsed, say experts

Srinagar: As the detention of two former Chief Ministers (CMs), Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, under Section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) lapsed on Wednesday, the J&K Government is likely to shift them to their houses.

Detained leaders, including Omar, Mehbooba, and Shah Faesal, have not signed the bond mandatory under Section 107 of the CrPC to maintain peace in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370.

“The government has decided to retain them (former CMs) in their houses as their detention under Section 107 CrPC is no longer valid from today,” a senior official told The Tribune.

“The government has to release them. And if they breach peace, only then they can be detained again,” he said.

He said there was no provision in Section 107 under which a person could be detained beyond six months.

The J&K Government detained nearly 6,000 political leaders after invoking Section 107 of the CrPC through its magistrates. Most of them have been released now.

Fearing law and order problem, the government would invoke Section 151 of the CrPC under normal procedure to detain a person, who is to be produced before a court within 24 hours.

“However, executive magistrates in different districts directly invoked Section 107 of the CrPC and detained political leaders or turned their residences into the sub-jails post abrogation of Article 370,” he said.

Former Advocate-General, Jehangir Ganai, says according to the Supreme Court guidelines, a person can be detained under Section 107 for a period of six months. He says during the period of the detention, the Executive Magistrate has to produce the inquiry whether the detained person has breached peace or not.

The government is now likely to shift the detained politicians to their houses to avoid legal wrangling, officials said.

“Exactly six months ago, I watched helplessly as officers took away my mother. Days have turned into weeks and weeks into months. Yet the political leadership in Kashmir remains under illegal detention. It has been an Orwellian nightmare to be up against a government muzzling its own people,” Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti tweeted on Wednesday.

Source: Tribune News Service