The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has asked the State Government to act against news channels for fuelling “hysteria about Kashmir and its people” and for “pushing Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Shah Faisal to the edge.”
It also censured the government for the media gag leading to the Kashmir Valley going without newspapers for four days.
Expressing “displeasure” over the reportage by some national news channels, a division bench of Chief Justice N.N. Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Muzaffar Hasnain Attar observed: “Hysteria created by some news channels about Kashmir and its people is creating problems for the Government, which needs to take some action and regulate them. The media is not above the law and needs to be made aware of it.”
The court made these observations while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, filed by the People’s Welfare Forum, a non-governmental organisation, on Wednesday on “shortage of essential items and medicines in Kashmir due to continued curfew”.
‘Pushed to the edge’
The court also took cognizance of a write-up of Mr. Faisal, who topped IAS examination in 2009, and blamed the reportage of news channels for “pushing him to the edge”.
“If he resigns, then he would be pushed to the other side of the divide,” the bench observed.
Mr. Faisal had threatened to resign over the broadcasts, drawing parallels between him and slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
Meanwhile, the court asked the State government to identify the authority that issued the ban orders against the local media, resulting in the closure of newspapers for five days.
“Nobody in a democratic society would accept crackdown on the newspapers. Tell us under which authority [officials] raided the newspapers? Martial law or emergency has not been declared. Chief Minister [Mehbooba Mufti] now disowns the ban on newspapers. Then who did it?” asked the bench.
