SC refuses to entertain plea, asks petitioner to approach HC 

Srinagar, Aug 29: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition challenging the Jammu and Kashmir government’s notification declaring 25 books — including works by A.G. Noorani, Arundhati Roy and Anuradha Bhasin — as “forfeited” for allegedly promoting secessionism and endangering India’s sovereignty.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi granted liberty to the petitioner, Advocate Shakir Shabir, to approach the J&K and Ladakh High Court. It requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to list the matter before a three-judge bench and decide it expeditiously, reported Live Law.

The petition had also challenged Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which empowers state governments to forfeit publications deemed unlawful. Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the provision had “pan-India application” and was “overbroad.”

Deprecating the trend of litigants bypassing High Courts, the apex court said the J&K High Court was best suited to examine the issue, especially since some of the banned works are authored by locals. It rejected a plea to transfer the case to another High Court, observing that such a move would be “demoralising.”

The J&K Home Department’s August 5 notification claimed the books distorted history, glorified terrorists and vilified security forces, thereby fostering radicalisation among youth. Titles on the list include Sumantra Bose’s Contested Lands, Noorani’s The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012, Roy’s Azadi, and Bhasin’s A Dismantled State.