New Delhi, September 16: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir authorities to see that normalcy is restored on a selective basis in the state while keeping in mind national interest.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer asked authorities to restore normal life in the Valley and ensure people had access to welfare facilities.The court said the restoration would be on a selective basis keeping in mind national interest.
The court asked the Centre to make all endeavours to restore normalcy in Kashmir as soon as possible and said that as the so-called shutdown is in the Valley itself then it could be dealt with by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The court’s directions came on a plea by Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor of Kashmir Times, seeking removal of communication restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir.
Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that not a single bullet had been fired and there were some localised restrictions in place, adding that restrictions had been lifted in over 88 per cent police stations in Kashmir division.
He told the bench that all Kashmir-based newspapers were running and the government had been offering all kinds of assistance.
He said TV channels like Doordarshan and others private ones along with FM networks are working in the state.
The bench asked the Attorney General to put details of these steps taken on an affidavit. PTI
