Overview
- A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal dismissed the petition after hearings on December 23–24.
- Mehbooba Mufti sought the return of all J&K undertrials lodged in prisons outside the Union Territory unless authorities proved compelling necessity, along with broader access and oversight measures.
- The court found no names of prisoners, family details, case particulars, or specific transfer orders, calling the filing incomplete and unsupported by material documents.
- Reiterating Supreme Court jurisprudence, the Bench held that PILs cannot be vehicles for partisan agendas and that courts are not platforms for electoral campaigns.
- The judges stressed transfers are made through individual, case-specific orders and said affected undertrials can pursue personal legal remedies and legal-aid assistance, so no systemic directions were warranted.