Calling Kashmir ‘Occupied’ & Kashmiris ‘Slaves’ Is Unlawful: J&K High Court 

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday declined to delete a first information report (FIR) registered against a lawyer for his social media remarks under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The court stated that statements such as “slaves of the Indian government” or “they [the people] are occupied by the country’s armed forces” are not protected by the right to freedom of expression. 
 

“The petitioner feels that the Kashmiris are enslaved and that The UT of Jammu & Kashmir is occupied, which is cancerous. The petitioner believes that the Indian military occupied Jammu & Kashmir. To my judgment, the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and expression cannot be construed in such a way as to empower an individual to throw doubt on the status of a segment of the country or its people,” Justice Sanjay Dhar stated in the judgment. 
 

The judge determined that by uploading these posts, the accused had “crossed the Lakshman Rekha,” which distinguishes the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the Indian Constitution from reasonable restrictions imposed on that right in the interests of India’s sovereignty and integrity. 
 

“As a result, this court should refrain from suspending the proceedings as per Section 482 of the CPC. Suspending the proceedings at this stage would amount to smothering a valid prosecution, which is prohibited in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict. As a result, this petition lacks credibility. As a result, the same is deemed null and void,” according to the court. 
 

Muzamil Bhat, the petitioner, has challenged the FIR No.187/2018 lodged with the Kulgam police station for violations of Section 13 of the UAPA. Mr. Bhat made his views on Facebook on October 21, 2018, in response to an event in which six people were murdered and more than 60 were injured by a bomb at the scene of a gunfight in Kulgam’s Laroo village. The event sparked uproar throughout Kashmir. According to the petitioner, the petitioner’s tweets focused on how incompetence resulted in civilian deaths and that the Kulgam District Police and local government were primarily accountable. 

However, Justice Dhar added that although criticizing the government for inefficiency and expressing outrage over human rights violations is one thing, asserting that Kashmiris are “slaves” and the UT of Jammu & Kashmir is “under military occupation” is totally different and unacceptable. 
 

“By making these assertions, the petitioner plainly adopts and supports the charge that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is not a part of India but is occupied by the Indian military, with the indigenous population reduced to slave status. As a result, he throws doubt on the sovereign and geographical integrity of the country,” as stated by the judge. 

Published By: Simran Mulani

Edit By: Khushi Thakur