Ex-J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah detained under public safety law

Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has been detained under Jammu and Kashmir’s stringent public safety law that gives the administration the right to detain a person without trial for at least six months. An order by the state government said the place where the former chief minister will be housed has been declared a temporary jail.

News of the detention order emerged on Monday ahead of the top court hearing of a habeas corpus (literally means, produce the body) petition that sought Farooq Abdullah’s production in the top court.

Jammu and Kashmir’s public safety law was first brought into force when Farooq Abdullah’s father Sheikh Abdullah was the chief minister. In its initial form, the law empowered authorities to jail a person for two years.