Mehbooba Mufti, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief, was released on Tuesday night from detention. Mehbooba Mufti spent 14 months in detention — first preventive and then under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
Mehbooba Mufti had been put under detention in August last year in the wake of the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.
Before being shifted to her residence on Gupkar Road in April this year, Mehbooba Mufti had been held at the Chashme Shahi guest house and later at a government bungalow after her daughter complained about cold in the winters. Her Gupkar Road residence was declared a subsidiary jail.
FOCUS ON ARTICLE 370
Soon after her release, Mehbooba Mufti made it clear that she would contest the revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba did not elaborate on her plans except saying that the Article 370 decision was “anti-constitutional, anti-democratic and illegal” and that “we have to continue to struggle for now”.
Article 370 and Article 35A together accorded a special status to Jammu and Kashmir as a state. Both the leading Kashmiri political parties have maintained that the Instrument of Accession that made the former princely state part of India was conditional to a special status granted through Article 370 and Article 35A.
Both the provisions were revoked last year when Parliament adopted two resolutions brought by the Modi government. The government invoked the powers conferred on it and Parliament in the same Article 370 to cease the article’s operation in Jammu and Kashmir.
MATTER PENDING IN SUPREME COURT
Nearly two dozen petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Article 370 move of the Modi government. The petitioners have argued that the resolutions adopted by Parliament did not have constitutional validity.
The Supreme Court formed a Constitution bench of five judges headed by Justice NV Ramana. The bench heard these petitions in December last year, and January and March this year. The matter is still pending before the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, the petitioners also argued that a bigger bench, comprising seven or nine judges, should be set up to hear the matter. They cited two previous judgments by the Supreme Court — Prem Nath Kaul (1959) dealing with the legislative powers of the erstwhile king and Sampat Prakash (1968) dealing with validity of Presidential Orders.
Both judgments were pronounced by five-judge benches of the Supreme Court. The petitioners cited variance in the judgments while the government counsel argued that those were not related matters. The Supreme Court in March this year rejected the demand for a bigger bench to hear the petitions challenging the operational cease of Article 370.
GUPKAR DECLARATION
The Gupkar Road of Srinagar is the most high-profile residential locality in the Kashmir Valley. It houses top politicians including the Abdullahs and Muftis.
It was here on August 4 last year — a day before the Modi government revoked Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir — all major political parties met at Farooq Abdullah’s sprawling residence.
They “vowed” to protect the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in what is known as the “Gupkar Declaration”. Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP was also a signatory to this declaration.
The political parties met again in August this year — six in number — reiterating their commitment to take forward the Gupkar Declaration.
A joint statement was issued saying, “We all reiterate that we are bound, wholly, by the contents of the Gupkar Declaration and will unwaveringly adhere to it. We are committed to strive for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, the Constitution of J&K and the restoration of the State and any division of the State is unacceptable to us.”
The statement was issued jointly in the name of Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti — who was still under detention — the Congress’s GA Mir, the CPI (M)’s MY Tarigami, the Peoples Conference’s Sajad Gani Lone and the Awami National Conference’s Muzaffar Shah.
The leaders said “there is unanimity amongst us” in the fight for restoration of Article 370 and “the special status of J&K as guaranteed under the Constitution”.
ALLIANCE WITH ABDULLAHS
Mehbooba Mufti is the last of the three former chief ministers released after being detained in the aftermath of Article 370 move of the Narendra Modi government. National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah were released in March this year.
The Abdullahs welcomed the release of Mehbooba Mufti. Omar Abdullah tweeted, “I’m pleased to hear that Ms. Mufti has been released after more than a year in detention. Her continued detention was a travesty and was against the basic tenets of democracy. Welcome out Mehbooba.”
The Gupkar Declaration, joint statement, and media reports suggest Mehbooba Mufti has been in touch with the Abdullahs, more frequently over the last three months during which they committed to carry forward the agenda.
Mehbooba Mufti’s release has set off speculation that a formal regional grouping may be announced bringing the rivals — the Abdullahs and the Muftis — under one umbrella in Jammu and Kashmir. Their demand for restoring Article 370 is at variance with the central government’s assurance that Jammu and Kashmir may get back its statehood status when normalcy returns.