Army convoy plying on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway on the second day of curbs on movement of civilian vehicles. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)The Supreme Court Monday disposed of the plea challenging restrictions imposed on civilian movement along the National Highway between Srinagar and Baramulla after the Jammu and Kashmir government said the restrictions are in place only till May 31.
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government had partially relaxed the twice-a-week ban on civilian traffic on April 20. It said the traffic along the Srinagar-Baramulla stretch will be restricted only on Sundays while the two-day curb will remain in force on the stretch between Srinagar and Udhampur. After facing criticism, the J&K government said that patients, students, government employees and those in “emergencies” will be allowed to use the national highway during the ban.
The apex court last week issued a notice to the Centre and the J&K government after hearing the plea by Muzaffar Shah, Awami National Conference senior vice-president, and social worker Yasmeen Sonaullah.
The bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna ordered in its last hearing, “Issue notice on the writ petition, as also on the prayer for interim relief, returnable within two weeks,”.
The petitioners termed the J&K highway curbs as an “absurd and draconian decision” and contended that the restriction affects the lives of several lakhs of people and the impugned order is a “virtual lockdown of the Valley two days every week, which will directly affect 10,000 vehicles which include vehicles carrying patients, students and government officials,” the petition claimed.
The petitioners had also claimed that the highway curb will impact the general elections “as it will disrupt the campaigning and constrict the ability of political parties and candidates to mobilise workers, set up public meetings and meet workers”.
On April 3, the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department issued an order banning the movement of civilian traffic on the 270-km Udhampur-Baramulla stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar-Uri national highway for two days every week from 4 am to 5 pm. According to this, on Sundays and Wednesdays, the stretch would be exclusively used for movement of military convoys.
