Apex Court issues month notice to J&K Govt
Jammu : In a contempt petition, Supreme Court of India has given a month time to Jammu and Kashmir government to respond as why it has defied an order issued by the court regarding relief to Jammu migrants in the month of July.
The contempt petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party chief Prof Bhim Singh was listed before a three judge Division Bench of the Apex Court, comprising Chief Justice K.G. Bal Krishnan, Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice R.V. Raveendran, today.
After hearing Prof Bhim with other advocates on the contempt petition, the Division Bench gave a month’s time to the State Government to respond to why it had defied a Supreme Court order dated July 12, 2006 to provide relief to the Jammu migrants.
The counsel for the petitioner alleged in the petition that the State and the Central Governments had not implemented the Supreme Court’s order, and this had resulted in starvation of at least 11,000 innocent migrants hailing from Doda, Rajouri, Poonch and Udhampur.
Citing the example of August 7, 2007 alleged police attack on women and children in Katra, the counsel further alleged that the State Government had let loose a reign of terror on migrants.
The Supreme Court allowed Singh to file an affidavit of Anita Thakur, a victim. He also mentioned how advocate HC Jhalmeria and senior journalist PK Ganju were beaten and taken into custody for supporting a migrant’s call for implementation of the Supreme Court order.
He said that police had broken Galleria’s leg after taking him into custody.