SC asks for normalcy in J&K; CJI says may visit
PETITIONS Keep national interest in mind while lifting restrictions, court tells govt
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to restore normalcy in the Valley as early as possible while keeping in mind national interest even as the Centre claimed the best possible steps were taken to prevent loss of life and property after the region was stripped of special status 43 days ago.
During a hearing of nine petitions filed over the ongoing restrictions in the Valley, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said that allegations that people were finding it difficult to approach the Jammu & Kashmir high court as “very, very serious” and said he would visit Srinagar if required.
“If access to high court is seriously affected, we will seek reply from the chief justice of the high court in the matter. If required, I will go to the high court of Jammu & Kashmir. If people cannot approach the high court, we have to do something,” Gogoi said, while warning of severe consequences if the information placed before the top court was found to be inaccurate.
The order came after senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for two child rights activists, argued that children and teenagers were facing serious hardship and that the high court was not functioning properly due to the restrictions.
The three-judge bench hearing the petitions also issued noti
ces to the Centre and the Jammu & Kashmir administration, and said people should have access to health care facilities, schools, colleges and public transport as soon as possible.
“The state of Jammu & Kashmir, keeping in mind the national interest and internal security, shall make all endeavours to ensure that normal life is restored in Kashmir,” said the bench, which also comprised justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer.
“All forms of communication, subject to overriding consideration of national security, shall be normalised, if required on a selective basis, particularly for health care facilities,” the order read.
The notice came on a petition by Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin, who approached the court complaining about “restrictions” on media.
The government argued that if restrictions on assembly, movement and communications not been clamped on August 5, the day Article 370 was effectively revoked, loss of life and property would have been inevitable.
In a note placed before the apex court, the administration argued that the restrictions were temporary, and were gradually being relaxed. “We are approaching a stage when no such restrictions may be necessary,” read the note, excerpts of which were read out by attorney general KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, and solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for Jammu & Kashmir.
Venugopal said the government had to respond to a threepronged attack: One by Kashmiri separatists funding stone pelters and protesters, the second from Pakistan that sponsored terrorists, and the third by businessmen who funded local militant groups.
Justice Bobde responded to the attorney general’s outline of the situation in Kashmir, “These are formidable reasons. A terrible state of affairs. We trust you will endeavour to restore the situation in Kashmir,” the judge added, asking the government to file an affidavit within two weeks.
The government moved to remove Article 370, which bestowed special status to J&K, on August 5 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories. Hours before Union home minister Amit Shah moved the resolution in Parliament, the administration suspended phone and internet connections and imposed restrictions on movement and assembly of people.
These measures have been gradually relaxed, with the government saying all landlines are currently functioning and restrictions removed in roughly 90% of the police stations in the Valley.
”It is to the credit of the government that these measures have succeeded in full, as not a single bullet has been fired till date and there has not been any loss of life on account of any police firing,” the note said.
When the top court was told about the “shutdown” of mobile and Internet services in the Valley, the bench said these issues could be dealt with by the J&K high court.
During his arguments on Monday, Venugopal rejected Bhasin’s contention that claimed curbs on media had been imposed in Kashmir. “Various newspapers are regularly being published from Srinagar,” the note read.
Hours after the court proceedings, Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed the top court’s order was an affirmation of Islamabad’s stance. “Restoring normalcy means that the curfew should be lifted and communications to the Valley restored,” the minister told a television news channel. Over the past three weeks, Pakistan has tried to internationalise the issue but with little success.
The nine petitions were filed by politicians Vaiko, Sitaram Yechury and Ghulam Nabi Azad, journalists Anuradha Bhasin and Prem Shankar Jha, activists Enakshi Ganguly, Shanta Sinha and Padi Richo, The Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference and a Kashmiri law student.