The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Jammu and Kashmir High Court to expeditiously hear and decide a plea challenging the constitutional validity of a provision that empowers authorities to seize publications deemed to threaten public order or national security.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi, and Vipul M Pancholi disposed of the petition filed by lawyer Shakir Shabir, who had questioned both Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the J&K government’s August 5 order banning 25 books. The state order had cited the works as “promoting false narratives and glorifying terrorism.”
“We are satisfied that the petitioner can seek redressal thereof effectively by way of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution before the High Court of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,” the bench observed. The Court requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to constitute a three-judge bench to decide the matter at the earliest.
The Court also noted it had reviewed the list of the banned publications but preferred that the High Court first express its opinion on the contentious issues.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde argued that Section 98 of the BNSS was “overbroad” and allowed sweeping forfeiture powers. “An official of a small state can declare a book obscene, leading to its confiscation across the country. This is disproportionate,” he submitted.
The plea, filed through advocate Ibad Mustaq, claimed the ban violates the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, as it suppresses freedom of expression, equality, and the right to life with dignity. It further alleged that the notification lacked specificity, lumping together academic research, historical commentary, and feminist narratives under the label of “secessionist literature.”
Among the works banned are Al Jihadul fil Islam by Jamaat-e-Islami founder Maulana Moududi, Independent Kashmir by Christopher Snedden, In Search of a Future (The Story of Kashmir) by David Devadas, Kashmir in Conflict by Victoria Schofield, The Kashmir Dispute (1947-2012) by A G Noorani, and Azadi by Arundhati Roy.
The J&K government, in its August 5 order, defended the ban as a necessary measure against the “systematic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature,” which it claimed played a significant role in radicalising youth and glorifying terrorism.
