(FE)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere in the administrative restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir, including restoring communication services and free movement, after the Centre removed the special category status enjoyed by the state under Article 370 last week.
Observing that the Centre was free to take the call on the curbs, given the sensitivity of the situation, a Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra said it was against playing the role of a day-to-day administrator, as restoration of normalcy in the state cannot be accomplished overnight and the government needed “reasonable time” to do so. “Nobody can take even a one per cent chance… in case the position remains like this then we will take a call,” the judges said.
“Nothing can be done overnight. This is a serious issue. Normalcy may come, we expect it to come. We have to ensure there is no loss of life. That is more important. If the court interferes now, it is a sensitive issue. We do not know anything. We do not read the newspapers now,” Justice Mishra told senior counsel Menaka Guruswamy, who appeared for Congress leader and activist Tehseen Poonawalla, the petitioner who has challenged the Centre’s decision to impose restrictions and “other regressive measures” like curfew and information black-out, in J& K.
