‘Clerical error’ keeps Khurram Parvez in jail

KL News Network

Srinagar

Khurram Parvez

Even after J&K High Court on Friday termed the detention of human rights activist Khurram Parvez under Public safety Act “not only illegal” but “abuse of power” and ordered J&K Government to release him, Parvez is still in prison.

The Indian Express reported that the reason behind this is a minor error in the date of the issue of PSA warrant at one place in the order.

There has been a minor clerical mistake in the order, report quoted officials, “We will release him as soon as it is rectified”.

Many senior prison and police officials have refused to comment on the issue.

Quoting Parvez’s relatives, the report said that the High Court hasn’t just ordered his release, it has questioned the detention itself.

“We have been waiting for his release since Friday when the court order was issued. Today, the jail authorities told us that they cannot release him because there is a minor error in the order”.

The relatives of Parvez told The Indian Express that at one place in the order, the date of the issue of the PSA warrant against him has been put as September 19 instead of September 21. “The jail authorities called it a minor error but wanted the Home department to disregard this small issue and tell them to release him. That didn’t happen. Now we will have to approach the Court again to issue a fresh order to correct this error.”

Earlier, Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar while Referring to Public Safety Act, according to the report, had said, “A society which has catapulted itself to the highest position of democratic values and principles, may not accept the law like the Act of 1978”. Saying that Parvez’s detention order “is not only illegal but the Detaining Authority has abused its powers in ordering his detention, the Court said that “…….perusal of the FIR’s…. show that in none of these FIRs, the detenue has been named as an accused”.

“Nothing is brought to the notice of the Court, either in the grounds of detention or in the Reply Affadavit, that in the investigation of these FIRs, involvement of the detnue surfaced as an accused,” the Court said.

The Court had also raised serious questions about the police case against Parvez that led to his arrest initially, saying that the police witnesses “made parrot-like statements”, gave wrong parentage and address of Parvez and also didn’t provide the content of the slogans that they accused Parvez had instigated people to make. The Court also said that (Detaining Authority) has not been sure whether the activities of the detenue were prejudicial to the security of the State or maintenance of public order,” Justice Muzzafar Hussain Attar said in the order.

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