The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Monday issued notices to the UT's home department in connection with pleas challenging the government's decision to forfeit 25 books for allegedly promoting "false narratives and secessionism".
The court has declined interim relief in the matter and fixed December 4 as the date of final hearing, when all petitions will be heard and decided.
A three-judge special bench comprising chief justice Arun Palli, justice Rajnesh Oswal and justice Shahzad Azeem issued notices on four petitions challenging the notification on August 5 forfeiting 25 books.
The petitions challenging the home department's notification ordering the forfeiture of the publications under Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been filed separately. HC refused to entertain the PIL moved by CPI (M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami.
"The court has given its mind that it would hear the matter and decide it finally and this is what we would have wanted," advocate Vrinda Grover told ET. She along with advocates Adil Pandit, Soutik Banerjee and Devika Tulsiani represented petitioners.
"It is an important case for J&K and even otherwise," Grover said. "What kind of power state should exercise, how that power is exercised and can sweeping and arbitrary powers be taken in the name of national security." Grover said the manner in which power had been exercised was "overboard, arbitrary, sweeping and completely wipes out our right to know".
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the petitioners to approach the J&K and Ladakh High Court, following which the full bench was constituted on September 30.
The notification issued by the home department, which is under LG Manoj Sinha, said that "a significant driver behind youth participation in violence and terrorism has been the systematic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature". It further said the literature would "deeply impact the psyche of youth by promoting culture of grievance, victimhood and terrorist heroism". The authors whose books have been banned include AG Noorani, Sumatra Bose, Arundhati Roy, Maulana Maududi, Pankaj Mishra, Victoria Schofield, Stephen P Cohen, Hasan ul Bana and Hafsa Kanjwal.
The court has declined interim relief in the matter and fixed December 4 as the date of final hearing, when all petitions will be heard and decided.
A three-judge special bench comprising chief justice Arun Palli, justice Rajnesh Oswal and justice Shahzad Azeem issued notices on four petitions challenging the notification on August 5 forfeiting 25 books.
The petitions challenging the home department's notification ordering the forfeiture of the publications under Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been filed separately. HC refused to entertain the PIL moved by CPI (M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami.
"The court has given its mind that it would hear the matter and decide it finally and this is what we would have wanted," advocate Vrinda Grover told ET. She along with advocates Adil Pandit, Soutik Banerjee and Devika Tulsiani represented petitioners.
"It is an important case for J&K and even otherwise," Grover said. "What kind of power state should exercise, how that power is exercised and can sweeping and arbitrary powers be taken in the name of national security." Grover said the manner in which power had been exercised was "overboard, arbitrary, sweeping and completely wipes out our right to know".
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the petitioners to approach the J&K and Ladakh High Court, following which the full bench was constituted on September 30.
The notification issued by the home department, which is under LG Manoj Sinha, said that "a significant driver behind youth participation in violence and terrorism has been the systematic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature". It further said the literature would "deeply impact the psyche of youth by promoting culture of grievance, victimhood and terrorist heroism". The authors whose books have been banned include AG Noorani, Sumatra Bose, Arundhati Roy, Maulana Maududi, Pankaj Mishra, Victoria Schofield, Stephen P Cohen, Hasan ul Bana and Hafsa Kanjwal.
