The Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear a PIL challenging the Jammu and Kashmir government’s notification, which declared 25 books forfeited.
The authors whose literature has been banned include AG Noorani and Arundhati Roy, as the books were declared forfeited over their alleged propensity to excite secessionism and endanger the sovereignty of India.
The court, though, allowed the petitioner to approach the J&K and Ladakh High Court for relief in the matter.
It requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to list the matter before a three-judge bench (presided over by the CJ) and decide the same at the earliest.
The petitioner, Shakir Shabir, a lawyer himself, has also challenged Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which deals with the power of a state government to declare certain publications forfeited and to issue search warrants for the same.
The petitioner claimed that the provision contradicts Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 19(2) and 21 of the Constitution.
“Having regard to the issues sought to be raised, we are satisfied that the petitioner can seek redressal thereof effectively by way of a writ petition under Article 226. The case is disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to raise the contentions before the High Court. We request the Chief Justice of the High Court to list it before a three-judge bench presided over by His Lordship and make an endeavour to decide it at the earliest. No opinion has been expressed on merits,” Justice Kant dictated.
Earlier, on August 5, the J&K Home Department issued the notification stating that the 25 books discussing the Kashmir issue were “found to excite secessionism and endanger the sovereignty and integrity of India, thereby attracting the provisions of Sections 152, 196 & 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.”
Some of the famous and well-known authors whose books got banned were Indian political scientist Sumantra Bose (“Contested Lands” and “Kashmir at the Crossroads (Inside a 21st Century Conflict)”), renowned Indian scholar A.G. Noorani (“The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012”), Indian journalist AnuradhaBhasin (“A Dismantled State (The Untold Story of Kashmir after Article 370)”), Indian author and political activist Arundhati Roy (“Azadi”), and “Kashmir & the future of South Asia” (edited by Indian historian and politician Sugata Bose along with Pakistani-American historian Ayesha Jalal).
Also Read: Govt ban on 25 books in J&K: Police search bookshops across UT
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