Kashmir has hosted a considerable number of delegations since it was stripped of its special status. Its locals reduced to mute spectators, they are given little choice but to comply with severe restrictions to ensure the visitors probing the valley for ‘signs of normalcy’ get what they came for.I must confess that this time, though, was different. As a 200-member group headed by the honourable chief justice of India and comprising eminent judges reached Srinagar last week, I wondered: With their sharp minds that observe things for what they truly are, would they be able to look through the façade of normalcy on a curated tour? Their key role and contribution in dispensing justice to millions of people across this country can’t be simply overlooked.Last month, when a G20 diplomat was interviewed in Srinagar while visiting Polo View, he noted, somewhat mischievously, that the streets had been swept clean – of people too. Like him, I am sure these eminent judges – no strangers to the plight of millions who’ve had to knock on the doors of the judiciary over the years for justice – will not have allowed the administration to pull wool over their eyes.In Jammu and Kashmir today, the administration does not even pretend to respect the judicial process. Not even a semblance of a functional justice system exists – that too has been undermined in the name of security and so called national interest.Also read: J&K: In 5 Years Without Elected Govt, the ‘Crown of India’ Has Become a Khap PanchayatWhen Justice Chandrachud publicly mentioned the unending number of cases pending before courts for granting bail to undertrials, he struck a chord with people here because denial of bail is the norm in Kashmir. Even in cases where bail is finally granted after a criminally long process, the investigative agencies rush to book the accused under new cases on flimsy grounds invoking draconian anti terror laws. Case in point – the journalist Fahad Shah, who dared to shed a light on the ground realities unfolding in Kashmir.My own party’s youth president Waheed Para, who until a few years ago was hailed by no less than the then Union home minister Rajnath Singh as a youth icon and a beacon of democracy, was booked by the National Investigation Agency under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Despite getting bail in a strong court order, he was re-arrested.Waheed spent 18 months behind bars for a crime which is yet to be proven. Yale University recently awarded him with a prestigious fellowship for his exemplary contribution towards upholding democratic values in Kashmir. Today, his father, a terminally ill cancer patient, watches his son run from pillar to post to seek permission to travel outside Kashmir from the court to accompany him for his treatment in Bombay. Forget allowing this bright young man to go to Yale, he is being deprived of even fulfilling his duties as a son.These are just two examples out of many. Instead of being able to report freely and highlight the truth, journalists in Kashmir now practice self censorship – well aware that they too will meet the same fate as their colleagues Fahad Shah and Sajjad Gul.In spite of the Union government’s hollow claims about establishing normalcy in Kashmir – with no bandhs or violence or stone pelting – there are thousands of young under-trials within jails in and outside Jammu and Kashmir. The majority of these prisoners belong to poor families who lack the resources to visit them even once, let alone fight long drawn, expensive legal battles. I know of countless parents who’ve had to sell off whatever little land they owned to provide legal aid and get their sons home. But unfortunately, the hatred propagated against Kashmiris is so deep rooted that most lawyers outside J&K refuse to take up these cases. The three Kashmiri students accused of cheering Pakistan in an India-Pakistan match remained in jail for a long time because lawyers in the Agra courts declined to represent them.Also read: Silence Around Delegates, High Security, Cleared Roads: What the G20 Meeting in Srinagar EntailedSince the Indian constitution was gutted in 2019, every institution meant to uphold and safeguard our rights has been subverted with impunity in Kashmir. Whether it was parliament, the mainstream pliable media or the executive – each one hasn’t just failed us. Rather they have played the role of the devil in disempowering Kashmiris to fulfil their own agenda.Every time Article 370’s legality and continuation was challenged in the past, the Supreme Court had in clear terms established that the provision – though temporary in nature – cannot be removed unless and until the Jammu and Kashmir constituent assembly recommends its dissolution to the Indian president. Today, the people of J&K look towards the Supreme Court not only to uphold its own earlier judgements but also to provide a delayed but much needed sense of justice to thousands of prisoners behind bars.The country that the people of Jammu and Kashmir chose to join for a tryst with destiny built on the shared values of democracy and secularism has failed us. Now, it is only the judiciary that can undo the wrongs and injustice inflicted upon us.Mehbooba Mufti is president of the Jammu Kashmir Peoples’ Democratic Party and a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Her email is mehbooba.mufti@gmail.com