The Indian Supreme Court has refused to lift the recent restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir despite a petition by Congress Party activist Tehseen Poonawalla who claimed that recent actions by the Indian government in Kashmir violate fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
The federal government’s top lawyer – Attorney General K.K. Venugopal told the court that the situation in the restive state is dynamic and the government is reviewing it on a day-to-day basis. But he added that while the situation remained highly sensitive “not a single drop of blood has been shed, no one died.”
The Supreme Court also heard a petition by Anuradha Basin, executive editor of Kashmir Times, published from Jammu and Srinagar, which sought to lift reporting restrictions in Kashmir.
Another petition by Akbar Lone from the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference challenged the legality of the decision to scrap Article 370.
New Delhi last week stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special constitutional status and divided the state into two federally administered territories. The move was generally welcomed in Ladakh and in Jammu region. But the Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley has fiercely opposed it. Kashmir has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan since they gained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947. Both states govern part of the region, but claim it in full.