Press trust of india
New Delhi, August 22: The ongoing trouble in Kashmir should be “dealt with politically” and everything cannot be managed within judicial parameters, Supreme Court said Monday.
The apex court also asked the solicitor general to help activist lawyer and Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) leader Bhim Singh to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
“This issue has various dimensions and therefore should be dealt politically and moreover, everything cannot be managed within the judicial parameters,” a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said. The bench, which also comprised Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, referred to a meeting Monday between a delegation of the state’s opposition parties led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Modi and asked Singh to join the delegation.
When the senior lawyer said the “RSS-dictated” government would not invite him, the court, which asked solicitor general Ranjit Kumar to facilitate Singh’s meeting with Modi, was annoyed.
“Don’t make a political statement here. You tell us whether you want to go and meet the political leadership or not,” the bench said.
The solicitor general said with regard to facilitating the meeting with the Prime Minister, he would “personally talk” to the home secretary.
In his plea, Singh also demanded imposition of Governor’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bench also asked Singh to file his response on the status report filed by the Centre on the situation in the Valley.
The Centre said the Jammu and Kashmir High Court was already seized of the matter and hence the plea, pending in the apex court, be disposed of.
The bench said statements made by Bhim Singh may not be “relevant judicially” but may be “relevant politically”.
Earlier, the Centre, in its status report filed in the court August 5, had said that the law and order situation in the Valley has improved considerably with incidents of violent protests having gone down from 201 July 9 to 11 August 3.
The Valley has been witnessing a spate of violent protests following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
The Centre, in its report, had said that in view of the improved situation, curfew had been lifted from most parts of the Valley on July 30.
The solicitor general, referring to the report, had said that curfew was in force only in certain areas of three districts in the Valley. “Due to persistent efforts of the security forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the situation has shown remarkable improvement, with the number of incidents declining progressively since the outbreak of violent protests and clashes,” he said.
| This issue has various dimensions and therefore should be dealt politically and moreover, everything cannot be managed within the judicial parameters Ts Thakur | Chief Justice |
