ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we draw on the courtroom performances and scripts of militarized humanitarianism and constitutionalism to ethnographically describe the work of habeas corpus jurisprudence as a “manoeuvre of suspension” (Hussain 2003: 92) in the regime of permanent emergency and perpetual war in Kashmir. We describe the everyday legality of Kashmir’s detention regime and its techniques for holding custodial bodies in limbo through deferral, delay, and non-adjudication. Situating habeas corpus litigation within this context of counterinsurgency lawfare, we argue that the exercise of habeas corpus deepens and extends the hold of the carceral grid even as it claims to provide remedy against illegal detention and state abuse. We conclude with ethnographic analysis of how judicial scripts and performances of militarized humanitarianism and constitutionalism juridicalize the relationship of persuasion and punishment, simultaneously authorizing and suspending the rule of law.
