By Sumit Saxena
New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS): Former Jammu and Kashmir legislator Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami and his family including grand children are under de facto house arrest, said Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in an affidavit, filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday.
On August 28, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S. A. Bobde and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer had allowed Yechury to go to Kashmir and meet Tarigami. The court had, also asked Yechury to submit a report on his visit to the state.
"Tarigami claimed his family and grand children are in de facto hosue arrest. Neither anyone is allowed to enter the house or go outside. The provisions for the house are brought by security officers, and he has no means to communicate with his family and friends in the rest of Srinagar or India", said the affidavit.
Yechury had filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the detention of Tarigami in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5. The plea also stated that Tarigami was not in good health and Yechury wanted to meet him.
The affidavit also said that during the first hour of the interaction with Tarigami, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) was also sitting in the room uninvited, although his presence was not at all compulsory.
Yechury claimed that the police officer told him that no charges have been pressed against Tarigami and he has not been detained, rather he is free.
Tarigami in the presence of this officer indicated that the security vehicles of his Z plus security have been withdrawn, and that "although no detention order had been shown to him, his security has been asked not to allow anyone to go outside or come inside the house."
Yehchury said that his colleague's diabetic status check could not be carried out due to non availability of the endocrinologist. The authorities also informed Yechury that he cannot stay at his colleague's house overnight.
However, the top court on Thursday ordered to shift ailing CPI-M leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami to the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), saying that his health is top priority.