Srinagar, Feb 14 (KNS): The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Jammu and Kashmir on the plea of Sara Abdullah Pilot, former J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's sister challenging his detention under the J-K Public Safety Act, 1978.

 

A two-judge bench, comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Arun Mishra, has asked the J-K administration to file a reply by March 2.

 

Pilot had on February 10 approached the top court challenging her brother's detention under the J-K Public Safety Act, 1978, saying the order of detention is "manifestly illegal" and there is no question of him being a "threat to the maintenance of public order".

 

The plea has sought quashing of the February 5 order detaining Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, under the PSA and also sought his production before the court.

 

The court had pushed the hearing to Friday after Justice Mohan M Shantangagoudar rescued himself from the case on Wednesday.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelThe plea, moved by  Pilot, was first mentioned before a bench led by Justice NV Ramana on Monday. The top court had agreed to consider the request for an urgent hearing in the matter.

 

Omar Abdullah, along with former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and a few other Kashmiri Politicians, has been charged under the Act since February 6. Under the PSA, a person may be detained without trial for three to six years. These leaders have been in detention for six months now since the Centre amended Article 370 of the constitution on August 5 to abrogate the region’s special status, and bifurcated it into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

 

Omar Abdullah, who has been a junior foreign minister and commerce minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led Cabinet in 2000, was served with a three-page dossier in which he was alleged to have made statements in the past which were "subversive" in nature (KNS).