New Delhi: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury, who recently visited Srinagar to meet his party’s former legislator, on Monday filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court, as instructed by the apex court.
To check on CPM colleague Yousuf Tarigami who suffers from Diabetes, various heart ailments, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, the Apex Court had allowed CPM general secretary permission to travel to the Valley and asked him to filed an affidavit, telegraphindia reports.
The order came on the habeas corpus petition moved by him, seeking permission to visit Tarigami, who was under detention following the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370.
The bench comprising of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S.A. Bobde and Abdul Nazeer had also issued notice to the Centre to respond to Yechury’s allegation’s that Tarigami’s health condition had “aggravated” after his illegal detention and that his family was under “de facto arrest”.
The CJI of added: “The affidavit speaks of something for which he (Yechury) was not permitted to do on his visit…. We have examined the affidavit and we will ask their (the Centre’s) response.”
In his affidavit, Yechury added Mr Tarigami and his family, including his children and grandchildren, are in de facto house arrest where none of them is allowed to step outside or enter the house.
The provisions for the house are brought in by the security officers and none of the family members can communicate with the people outside the house or the rest of Srinagar, Kashmir or India since none of the mobile networks, landlines are functional in his house.
Since the family can not seek any emergency medical help, Mr Tarigaami can not even reach his regular doctor who is familiar with his medical history, many medical conditions, and complications which may arise.
The family is in house arrest and going through a shortage of money and cash.
Since Yechury was also part of the delegation of opposition leaders who had gone to Srinagar last week to check the ground situation in the region, he was not allowed to step out of the airport and was sent back to Delhi.