Army convoy crosses national highway near Panthachowk, Srinagar. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi/File)The Supreme Court on Monday refused to issue any direction on a plea challenging curbs on civilian movement along the National Highway between Srinagar and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir after the state said that the restrictions were meant only for one day in a month until the end of May.
The restrictions were put in place after the terror attack in Pulwama killed 40 CRPF personnel on February 14.
In its order, the bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta said, “(The) Additional Solicitor General appearing for the State of Jammu & Kashmir submits that the closure of the highway as on date is for one day in a week. The learned Additional Solicitor General has further submitted that the said closure will be effective only till the end of May. Taking into account… we are not inclined to keep this petition pending. The writ petition is disposed of, along with all pending applications,” the court ordered.
On April 3, the J&K Home Department had issued an order banning the movement of civilian traffic on the 270-km Udhampur-Baramulla stretch of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway for two days every week from 4 am to 5 pm. According to the order, on Sundays and Wednesdays, the stretch was meant exclusively for military movement.
The order was challenged before the SC by Muzzafar Shah, senior vice-president of the Awami National Conference, and social worker Yasmeen Sonaullah. They termed the order “absurd and draconian”, and contended that it would affect the lives of lakhs. The order’s “indirect economic and social impact is interminable”, they said.
Following criticism over the order, the state administration on April 20 relaxed the ban and said that the restriction would be limited only to Sundays with effect from April 22.
