J&K HC court order on PIL related to undertrials surprising, unfortunate: Mehbooba

Former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday (December 26, 2025) said the J&K High Court’s recent order on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to shifting of Kashmiri undertrials was “surprising, unfortunate and focussed on politics but not reason”.  

“The court order passed on my PIL was unfortunate and surprising. The court says anyone can file a PIL but since I am a politician I filed it for political reasons. The court forgot that politicians connected to the ground. We understand the pain people go through and especially those whose relatives are in jails for years together,” Ms. Mufti said.

She said the court was the last resort for her “to ensure that undertrials who have no serious charges” are brought back to Kashmir. “There should have been a debate on reason and PIL but instead the debate was around me. The court should have taken sou motu cognisance of such cases and sought answers from the government. Undertrials cannot be termed as convicts. Many are behind the bars without trials,” Ms. Mufti said. 

Ms. Mufti said she chose to knock on the doors of the high court after her earlier efforts failed. “After 2019, many youths were arrested and shifted outside. In two separate letters, I urged the Union Home minister, home secretary, J&K Chief Secretary, and Director General Prisons to share details on undertrials. There has been no response,” Ms. Mufti said.

She urged the Members of Parliament (MPs) of ruling National Conference (NC) to see details of undertrials in the Parliament. “We have no MP in the Parliament. The Omar Abdullah government and his MPs should see details. The J&K government should provide legal aid as most of the families of these undertrials do not afford the expenses, even for travel,” Ms. Mufti said.  

Ms. Mufti also urged the legislators of the NC to form a committee and visit the jails outside J&K “to find out the conditions of Kashmiri undertrials”. “We are discussing the recent court order within the party to take fresh measures. We will not allow this issue to be on a back burner,” Ms. Mufti said.

The High Court on December 23 dismissed the Public Interest Litigation and observed that it was “driven by political considerations rather than genuine public interest”. The court said since Ms. Mufti was a third-party stranger to the alleged grievances and “had failed to establish bona fide public interest”.