Ensure no difficulty caused to commuters: HC to authorities

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, April 9

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today directed the authorities to “ensure no difficulty is caused to daily commuters” in the wake of the biweekly closure of the 270-km Baramulla-Srinagar-Udhampur highway that is being imposed in the region to ensure the safe passage of the security forces convoys.

While refusing to grant interim stay orders in a bunch of petitions challenging the highway ban notification, the court said it would be “inappropriate for the court to pass blanket injunctions (orders)”.

These directions were issued today by a division bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Gita Mittal, who, during the proceedings, also observed that “nobody complains when the hartals (strikes) are called”.

The court also impleaded the Union Defence Ministry and Union Surface Transport Ministry as the respondent parties in the mater, with directions to all respondents to file counter response within 10 days while posting the matter on April 19.

A total of four public interest litigations (PILs) challenging the April 3, 2019 Highway ban order were on board before the bench today as the court on Monday had sought “suggestions and alternative arrangements” from the state government on the matter. But during the proceedings today, advocates M Ishaq Qadri and Jahangir Iqbal Ganai also mentioned two more PILs over the issue on behalf of Ali Mohammad Sagar of the National Conference and Naeem Akhter of PDP.

During the day, the bench adjourned the matter twice and reconvened to take up the PILs at 4.30pm, during which time the state government counsel Bashir Ahmad Dar also placed on record fresh orders dated April 9, 2019, signed by the Additional Commissioner, Kashmir, in which lawyers have been exempted from the restrictions, with further directions to magistrates and police posted at intersections “to ensure that commuters are allowed to pass the national highway in a hassle-free manner”.

‘Nobody complains during hartals’ 

• During the first session, the Chief Justice observed that “nobody complains when the hartals are called” in Kashmir 

• Explaining how the strikes have affected the lives, the Chief Justice said cases of the mothers whose sons are in jails for eight to nine years are adjourned when the strikes are called, but nobody complains at that time