In Indian illegally occupied Jammu nd Kashmir, the High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has expressed serious concern over random arrest and detention of innocent people particularly students in the Kashmir Valley.
The HCBA in a meeting presided over by its Chairman Nazir Ahmad Ronga in Srinagar said the spate of random arrests and detentions is ruining the educational and professional career of the students. In the meeting such kind of actions were deemed as intellectual genocide in Kashmir Valley.
“The Bar Association has received hundreds of detention orders passed by concerned district magistrates under draconian law, Public Safety Act (PSA), passed on flimsy and non-existent grounds.
The perusal of the grounds of detentions does not disclose any ground which would warrant action under the preventive laws,” the participants of the meeting said.
In the meeting it was observed that illegal arrests and detentions and the process of release is made as a punishment in itself before trial.
The random abuse of the draconian law, UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) is a phenomenon which is used to prolong the illegal arrests of the educated youth and put a stigma on their careers so as to deprive these students from ensuing professional careers of their choice, it said.
The HCBA appealed to the authorities to immediately release the arrested youth lodged in different jails outside the Kashmir Valley.
“The lodgment of the arrested and detained persons outside the valley is itself an illegal exercise and abuse of process of law used as a measure of punishment and financial drainage not only to the detenus but also to their families.
It is a matter of serious concern that a dozens of families don’t even know the whereabouts of their dear ones who have been detained in undisclosed jails,” the lawyers’ body maintained.
The participants of the meeting also strongly condemned the remarks made by BJP leader, Vikram Randwa, as obnoxious wherein he stated that those Kashmiris who had celebrated India’s defeat against Pakistan in the ongoing T-20 World Cup should be skinned alive.
In the meeting timely role of Jammu lawyers in rejecting the communal politics by seeking appropriate action of Vikram Randwa was lauded and appreciated and the sentiments of Jammu lawyers were equally shared by the Kashmir Bar Association.
“It is high time for the lawyers across Jammu and Kashmir to stand by the communal harmony and brotherhood and not allow politicians and disruptive elements to communalize the situation for their political interests,” the participants said.—KMS
