You may impose restrictions on communication, but decide for how long: Supreme Court to Modi government on Kashmir

Supreme Court of India(Source: Hindustantimes)

The Supreme Court has asked the Modi government how long do they plan to extend the restriction on communication modes that was imposed on Kashmir after the effective abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcating the state of Jammu and Kashmir in into two union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh.

A 3 judge bench headed by Justice NV Ramana asked the Modi government “How many days you want restrictions? It’s already 2 months now. You have to come clear on this and you have to find out other methods”. After saying this, the bench posted the matter for hearing for 5th November 2019.

“You may impose restrictions, but you have to review your decisions. Do you?”, said asked the SC Bench.

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The Modi government, in turn, answered the Supreme Court by saying that 90% of restrictions have been released in the valley and the situation is reviewed every day.

“About Internet restrictions, ultimately people have to have a mode of communication”, said the Bench to the Modi government.

Read: Article 370 was the only temporary provision in the constitution: EAM S Jaishankar explains the rationale behind govt’s Kashmir decisions

The Bench has agreed to consider the petitions filed by several people about the Modi government’s handling of the abrogation of Article 370. The 3-member Bench agreed to consider the cases of Enakshi Ganguly (child detention), Sitaram Yechury (Tarigami detention), Anuradha Bhasin (against communication blockade), Ghulam Nabi Azad (against JK restrictions), Asifa Mubeen and We The Citizens (against lockdown) etc.

On November 5th, the Supreme Court will also hear on November 5, plea filed by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who had sought a nod from SC to visit his family members and relatives.

The three-Judge Bench also allowed the Jammu & Kashmir High Court Chief Justice to file an additional report on the access of judiciary by people in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of abrogation of Article 370.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia