SC asks centre to file reply on Sitaram Yechury's habeas corpus petition

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to file a reply on the habeas corpus petition moved by CPIM leader Sitaram Yechury for party leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami.

Habeas corpus petition seeks a person under arrest to be brought before a court, especially to secure their release, unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

During the course of proceedings, the apex court observed that with the production of Tarigami before the court last month, there is no urgency left in the matter.

"He himself came before this court (as Tarigami has filed a plea before the top court against abrogation of Article 370), where is he missing now?" said the court.

Raju Ramchandran, a counsel appearing for Yechury, challenged the validity of Tarigami's detention today, on which the court said that it would come up in due course. It suggested that the matter should be heard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

"If we pass these orders it will be as if High Court is not functioning. If you want it to be heard here, it will not be taken up immediately. Let it come in due course," the bench said.

The court had last month allowed Yechury to visit Jammu and Kashmir to meet ailing Tarigami and asked him to file an affidavit on his return. Taking cognizance of the affidavit, the court had also ordered Tarigami to be shifted to All Indian Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).

Yechury filed the petition after the central government's diluted the provisions under Article 370, which led to the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status.

Following the decision, several political leaders including former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti were taken into preventive custody.