IIOJK High Court upholds life sentence of senior Hurriyat leader Dr Qasim Faktoo
Srinagar: The High Court of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has upheld a 2012 ruling that senior Hurriyat leader Dr Qasim Faktoo will serve imprisonment for natural life.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Dr Faktoo, 57, was sentenced to life in 2003 on false charges related to a murder case from 1992. Initially acquitted by a designated TADA court in Jammu in 2001, the verdict was overturned by the Indian Supreme Court in 2003 after an appeal by India’s investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He has been incarcerated since February 6, 1993.
In his recent plea, Faktoo challenged the IIOJK High Court’s 2012 decision, which dismissed his request for release after completing over 20 years in custody. The court reaffirmed that life imprisonment means confinement for the convict’s natural life unless remitted by the government.
The division bench, comprising Justice Sanjay Dhar and Justice M.A. Chowdhary, stated, “Imprisonment for life would mean imprisonment for the natural life of a convict… He cannot claim his release after undergoing 20 years as a matter of right.” The court emphasized that only the appropriate authority has the power to grant remission.
Born on November 13, 1967, in Zaldagar area of Srinagar, Dr Qasim Fakhtoo holds academic accolades, including a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies awarded during his imprisonment in 2016. Married to Aasiya Andrabi, a prominent Kashmiri Hurriyat leader and Chief of Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Dr Fakhtoo served as the Chief of the Muslim League and Chairman of Muslim Deeni Mahaaz, a religious organization he founded.
