Jammu and Kashmir High Court today granted interim bail to the president of the lawyers body in the Valley Mian Abdul Qayoom,but set conditions for his release. Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir granted interim bail to Qayoom till January 21 and directed him to furnish two sureties of Rs one lakh each,attested by Principal District and Sessions judge Kathua. Directing the record to be transferred to the Kathua court within five days,Justice Mir said the Kashmir High Court Bar Association president,who was booked under Public Safety Act (PSA),should appear before the concerned Sessions Judge on January 5. Qayoom was arrested and booked under PSA on July 7 for allegedly instigating street protests in the Valley. The High Court quashed his detention under PSA but he was rearrested and booked for waging war against the country during his detention in Hiranagar jail in Kathua district of Jammu region. Justice Mir directed Qayoom not to attempt to tamper with the evidence and not to leave the state without courts permission. The court also dismissed the petition filed Qayooms counsel under 561-A CrPC,seeking to quash an FIR registered against him at Hiranagar. Meanwhile,the High Court also granted permission to a team of lawyers from the Bar Association to visit various jails in the state for ascertaining the condition of detainees. The orders to this effect were issued by Justice Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain.
