BackJammu and Kashmir unrest cannot be dealt with by courts: Supreme Court
Supreme Court's observations came while it was hearing a PIL seeking protection of civil liberties, imposition of governor's rule in Jammu and Kashmir
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the stand of the central government over unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the issue cannot be dealt with by the courts.
“We must appreciate that certain dimensions of the issue cannot be readdressed in court. The situation in the state keeps changing by the hour for which there is no judicial remedy," the court said.
Chief Justice T.S. Thakur’s observations came while the court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) seeking protection of civil liberties of citizens in the state and imposition of governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir due to the unrest.
The bench, also comprising justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, asked advocate Bhim Singh who appeared for the petitioner to begin political consultations to resolve the issue.
“Do not make political statements here. Tell us if you want to go meet the political establishment that can deal with the matter," the court said, referring to a meeting between a delegation of the state’s opposition parties led by former chief minister Omar Abdullah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked Singh to join the delegation.
The court also asked solicitor general Ranjit Kumar to arrange for a meeting between Singh and Prime Minister Modi.
J&K National Panthers Party moved the top court, saying the court should intervene in the interest of the security in the state and the safety of its citizens.
“J&K is under the siege of central security forces for the last two weeks," said the petition, a copy of which has been seen by Mint.
On 5 August, the centre in its status report had said that the law and order situation in the Valley has improved considerably with incidents of violent protests having gone down from 201 on 9 July to 11 on 3 August. The protests began after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter.
The Jammu and Kashmir high court is also hearing a similar plea on alleged excessive use of force against citizens by security personnel.
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