M Vaiko files petition in SC to allow Farooq Abdullah to travel to Chennai

New Delhi: Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief and lawmaker Vaiko on Wednesday filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to allow former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah to travel to Chennai.

Abdullah has been under preventive detention in Srinagar from the past one month.

Vaiko, in his petition, asserted that Abdullah was to attend the 111th birth anniversary celebration of former Tamil Nadu chief minister C N Annadurai in Chennai on September 15, but could not be contacted as he is under the house arrest following the Centre's decision to revoke Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Habeas corpus petition seeks a person under arrest to be brought before a court, especially to secure their release, unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

Besides Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and various local leaders were taken into custody following the Centre's decision to abrogate the provisions of Article 370.