Article 370 Verdict: Mehbooba Mufti Under House Arrest, Lt Governor Rejects PDP Claims, Says It's 'Baseless'

The president of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti, was reportedly placed under house arrest on Monday, as per her party's claims, ahead of the Supreme Court's ruling on petitions challenging the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

The PDP asserted on X that police had sealed Mehbooba Mufti's residence and placed her under what they deemed an illegal house arrest even before the Supreme Court's judgment.

Contradicting these assertions, Jammu and Kashmir's Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, dismissed the claims, labeling any news of pre-verdict house arrest as "totally baseless." In a separate incident, officials confirmed that journalists were barred from accessing the residences of National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah in Gupkar.

The NC reported that police had locked the main gate of Omar Abdullah's residence earlier in the day, leading to statements on X by NC's additional state spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah, questioning the act in the context of democracy. She also shared images of the locked gates of the Abdullah residence on the platform. Omar Abdullah, having vacated his official residence in October 2020, resides with his father, Farooq Abdullah.

While Farooq Abdullah is presently in Delhi for the ongoing Parliament session, his son, Omar Abdullah, remains in the valley. The developments surrounding the reported house arrests have sparked discussions, emphasizing the delicate political landscape in Jammu and Kashmir.