New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday said that the review orders in connection with internet restriction in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are not supposed to be kept in the cupboard, rather they should be published.
Additional solicitor general (ASG) K M Nataraj, representing the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, submitted before a bench comprising justices B R Gavai and Sanjay Karol that the petitioner seeks publication of information on deliberations in connection with review orders relating to internet restrictions in UT of Jammu and Kashmir. Justice Gavai told Nataraj, “Forget about deliberations, you publish the orders….are you making a statement that review orders will be published?” Nataraj said he needs to get instructions on the matter.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea by the Foundation of Media Professionals for the publication of review orders relating to internet restrictions in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. Advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the petitioner, said the review orders are something to be passed under the Act and therefore they must be published, and the authorities are saying that the special committee report does not have to be published. Farasat said that I am not contesting that, there may be national security reasons, but the review order is a statutory order, and the apex court has clearly said that the mother order and review must be published.
Nataraj said all these issues had arisen during the curbs (after the abrogation of Article 370) and all those prayers had been complied and even contempt had been dismissed. Nataraj said now the petitioner is coming out with a new prayer (regarding a direction to be passed by the court). Citing the paragraphs, referred to by Farasat in the Anuradha Bhasin judgment of the apex court, the bench said: “The review orders are not to be kept in cupboard…”. Nataraj said the petitioner’s counsel wants all those recommendations. Justice Gavai said the petitioner wants the review orders to be published and asked Nataraj to show it is not necessary to publish the review orders.
The apex court noted that Farasat said the apex court in the judgment in the Anuradha Bhasin case has held that even the review orders are required to be published and the same is not being done in UT of Jammu and Kashmir. ASG contended that the court order shows that the deliberations are not required to be published. “It may not be necessary to publish the deliberations, however, the orders passing the review would be required to be published. Nataraj seeks two weeks’ time to take instructions in this regard”, said the bench, in its order, after hearing submissions.
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