Petitions filed against highway ban; HC issues notice to Govt

Srinagar, Apr 8:Jammu and Kashmir High Court Monday issued a notice to the state government after several pleas were filed seeking striking down of the two-days-a-week ban on civilian traffic on the highway.

Two of the pleas were filed by bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal and Peoples Democratic Party leader Naeem Akhtar.

Akhtar filed a plea against the highway closure ban in the court through senior advocate and former Advocate General of the state, Jehangir Iqbal Ganai.
Faesal, who heads Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement, too filed a petition seeking revocation of the ban.

He, in the plea, has termed the ban as a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 19 and 21 of Indian constitution.   

Faesal’s PIL is argued by advocates Tasaduk Khuwaja and senior council of Supreme Court advocate Ehsan Javed.

Two more petitions against the ban were filed by Raja Faisal Zahoor and Shafqat Nazir.

 “The (Principal Secretary to government), Home Department, Civil Secretariat has issued an arbitrary and capricious order dated 03.04.2019 in terms whereof two dedicated days in a week viz. Wednesday and Sunday have been kept for movement of security forces’ convoys, when there would be no civilian traffic on highway from Baramulla through Srinagar, Qazigund, Jawahar Tunnel, Banihal to Ramban till Udhampur from 4.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M,” Shafqat submits in the petition.

“The order is illegal and unconstitutional having been issued in violation of the rights guaranteed to the petitioner under Article 14, 19 and 21 of the constitution,” he said.

Shafqat said that under Section 144 CrPC, only an executive magistrate can place restrictions on the movement of people in urgent cases of apprehended danger etc.

“(Principal Secretary to government, Home) has no power or authority to pass an order placing restrictions over the movement of people. The impugned order deserves to be quashed,” he said.

Following the petitions, the division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Tashi Rabstan issued a notice to the state government through directed the Additional Advocate General of the state to come up with instructions by Tuesday.

The state government last week announced that the highway from Baramulla till Udhampur would be left open for convoy movement and no civilian traffic would be allowed to ply on it every Sunday and Wednesday until May 31.

On Sunday, the civilian traffic was not allowed to ply on the highway bringing immense inconvenience to the people.

The move has been widely criticized by political parties, civil society groups.

Although the authorities have claimed that it won’t be a blanket ban, the move is impacting an entire population living and working in south, central and north Kashmir.

There are at least two universities, 700 educational institutes and 90 crossing points located on the highway.