JAMMU, November 3, 2025 : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday personally appeared before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, pleading for the transfer of all undertrial prisoners from J&K jails outside the Union Territory back to local prisons.
Calling her plea an act of “compulsion and humanity,” the former chief minister said hundreds of poor families have suffered for years “without justice.”
“If rapists and murderers like Asaram and Gurmeet Ram Rahim can get parole, why are Kashmiri undertrials—whose crimes aren’t proven—kept miles away from their families?” Mehbooba asked outside the court.
Her public interest litigation (PIL) seeks directions for authorities to bring back such detainees unless specific, written justifications exist for their continued confinement outside J&K.
Mehbooba told reporters that over 3,000–3,500 detainees, mostly poor, remain in distant prisons, leaving their families unable to afford travel or legal expenses.
“For many of them, the judicial process itself has become the punishment,” she said, urging the court to take a “humanitarian, not technical” view and to provide travel aid of ₹20,000–25,000 to affected families.
The High Court, after hearing the matter, has posted it for the next date of hearing.
The PIL also proposes a two-member oversight panel headed by a retired district judge to audit prison records, family contact logs, and ensure periodic judicial review.
