A day after Iltija Mufti was allowed by the Supreme Court to visit her mother in Srinagar she said that she feels a "sense of relief" and that her "faith in the judiciary had been restored."
"I feel a sense of relief that I will be able to see her," she said.
When the government of India doesn't give me my fundamental right, my civil liberties, I have no other alternative but to knock at the doors of the judiciary which I have immense faith in. My faith in the judiciary has been restored after today's verdict," NDTV quoted her as saying.
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A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Thursday allowed former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's daughter to meet her in Kashmir, where she is under detention following the revocation of the state's special status a month ago.
Even as the apex court allowed Iltija to visit the PDP Chief in private on the date of her choice, it added that as far as her movement in other parts of the city was concerned, it was subject to the permission of the authorities.
"So far as moving around in other parts of Srinagar is concerned, the petitioner would be free to do so subject to requisite permission from the district authorities as and when necessary," the bench added.
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Iltija had fild a petition in the apex court demanding she be allowed to visit her mother as she was concerned about her health and that it was over a month that she had seen her.
After the revocation of Article 370, Iltija had travelled to Srinagar from Chennai to meet her mother but she was denied.
"I was placed under detention as well. From 6th until the 22nd when I left for Chennai, I was placed under detention. And through this period, not a day went by that I didn't ask the authorities to meet my mother or just talk to her on phone. But all these requests were turned down," she said.
"This time when I go, I will not let them harass me or intimidate me as I have the backing of the Supreme Court. They can't harass me the way they did those two weeks I was in Kashmir," she said.
Mehbooba is in detention in a hut at Chashmeshahi near the governor's residence Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.
Speaking on the restrictions that still continue in the Valley, Iltija said, "today marks a month since a brutal clampdown was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir. Eight million people have been incarcerated and are living in constant fear, stripped of their rights and dignity."
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"But my greater worry is that there seems to be no plan in place to end this siege that the state has witnessed for a month now," she added.
"I will continue to speak my mind on what is right for Kashmir like any free and responsible citizen should," Iltija said in her reaction, adding she would be flying to Kashmir soon.
(With inputs from PTI)
