Srinagar: Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Srinagar, has expressed serious concern over the deteriorating health of Shabir Ahmad Shah, a 70‑year‑old detainee, urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure dignified medical treatment for the ailing prisoner.
In a letter addressed to the Home Minister, Aga Ruhullah as per news agency stated that Shabir Ahmad Shah is entitled to medical treatment with dignity and fairness, as his doctors have recommended three surgeries for serious medical conditions, including life‑threatening prostate cancer. He expressed alarm that despite the gravity of his condition, Shah has been kept in incarceration since 2017, allegedly without family support.
The MP stated that during a medical visit to Safdarjung Hospital on May 1, 2025, Shah’s family alleged he was subjected to harassment and degrading treatment by escorting officers and that access to his medical records has been withheld.
Aga Ruhullah asserted that India has both legal and moral obligations, under its Constitution and international covenants such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to ensure that prisoners are treated with humanity. He quoted the ICCPR and the Nelson Mandela Rules, reminding that every prisoner must be treated with dignity and be granted the same standard of medical care available to the general population.
He pointed out precedents where undertrial detainees such as Zahoor Watali and Gautam Navlakha were granted house arrest on medical and humanitarian grounds, highlighting that incarceration must not come at the cost of a person’s life or dignity, especially when there is no risk of escape or subversion.
“I urge you to ensure that Shabir Shah is provided dignified medical care in a facility equipped for cancer treatment, with his family fully involved in medical decisions, as permitted by law. The measure of a nation is how it treats its weakest. Let us not fail that test,” Aga Ruhullah stated in the letter.
