Kashmir high court lawyers demand release of bar president

Members of the Kashmir high court Bar Association (KHCBA) today staged a sit-in at the Saddar court complex here demanding immediate release of their president Mian Abdul Qayoom, due to which court proceedings were halted.

Although the courts were functional, the proceedings in the cases could not be conducted as the lawyers affiliated with KHCBA sat on a dharna and did not attend the court in protest against the detention of Qayoom in a jail in Kathua in Jammu district.

The protesting lawyers alleged that Qayoom was being held in jail on fabricated charges and the government was not honouring the orders of the courts.

The president of the Bar was arrested in July 2010 and booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for his alleged involvement in fuelling the summer protests last year.

The high court had quashed his detention under PSA but the state government filed two separate cases against him and lodged him at Kathua jail.

He was granted bail by the trial court earlier this week and was expected to be released today. However, the relatives of the bar president were informed that he was wanted in another case.