New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) A total of 52 petitions under a category which relates to "habeas corpus matters" are pending in the Supreme Court as on December 13, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Broadly, a habeas corpus plea is a writ used to challenge the unlawful detention or imprisonment of a person and is meant to protect fundamental rights.

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Responding to a question on the number of habeas corpus pleas pending in the Supreme Court and high courts till date, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju explained in a written reply that the information is not maintained in the apex court as sought for.

However, he shared the number of pending cases, according to the Supreme Court Subject Category Code 1300 which relates to "habeas corpus matters" in the Supreme Court, as retrieved from the Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS).

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The minister said at the end of 2020, 53 such matters were pending in the top court, and 40 in the end of 2019. At the end of 2018, 43 such cases under the category relating to "habeas corpus matters" were pending in the top court.

Referring to high courts, he said as on December 14, 108 habeas corpus cases were pending in the Bombay High Court.

Similarly, till December 9, 35 such cases were pending in the Gauhati High Court. In the Kerala High Court, 24 such cases were pending as on December 10 and in the Madhya Pradesh High Court, 97 habeas corpus cases were pending as on December 1.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)