Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury informed the Supreme Court in a nine-page affidavit that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, as far as he could see, is “completely contrary” to claims made by the government.
Mr. Yechury had travelled to Jammu and Kashmir on August 29 after the Supreme Court gave him permission to meet his ailing party colleague M.Y. Tarigami there. Mr. Yechury had filed a habeas corpus petition to know the whereabouts of Mr. Tarigami, who was not to be seen since the clampdown on August 5 following the scrapping of Article 370.
“The situation on the ground to the extent he [Yechury] saw was completely contrary to what the government is indicating,” the affidavit filed by Mr. Yechury, represented by senior advocate Raju Ramachandran and advocate Shadan Farasat, said.
The comment invited the ire of the apex court on Thursday during a hearing. Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi pointed out that Mr. Yechury was allowed to visit curfew-hit Jammu and Kashmir only to enquire about his colleague and nothing else. Chief Justice Gogoi said the comment in the affidavit seems to have exceeded the purpose of his visit. The court asked the government for its response.
Meanwhile, the court ordered Mr. Tarigami to be shifted to Delhi for treatment at AIIMS.
In his affidavit, Mr. Yechury showed how the official version contradicted the version of the “detained” person.
Mr. Yechury said that he had asked the Senior Superintendent of Police, Security in J&K, who was present “uninvited” at the meeting between the two party leaders, about the charges and provisions of law under which Mr. Tarigami was being detained in his house.
The senior police official, Mr. Yechury said, told him that there was no legal charges against Mr. Tarigami. The Kashmir party leader was not being detained and he was “free.”
On the other hand, Mr. Tarigami countered the police version, saying that no order of detention was shown to him. His Z plus security vehicles have been withdrawn and he and his family members have not been allowed out of their house for the past 25 days.
Mr. Yechury said his party colleague described their situation as a “de facto arrest.” The affidavit also narrated how Mr. Yechury was accompanied by the police from the moment he set foot on the tarmac to his return to Delhi the next day.
