New Delhi: The Supreme Court+ today not only dismissed a PIL that sought to stop Central funds and security being given to 'separatists' in Kashmir, it also slammed a lawyer for calling Hurriyat leaders 'separatists' and refused to use that term in its order. "It's a matter of perception. Has the government declared them separatists? The conduct of a man may not be to the liking of others and
(so) they call him separatist, but you can't use that term in court," a Supreme Court bench of Justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit said.
The PIL filed on September 8 said that more than Rs 100 crore is spent - for foreign travel, security and other expenses - on separatists by the government. On top of that, the PIL said, the separatists then misuse the money for anti-India activities+ .
To that, the apex court today said the judiciary cannot examine what funds are given to whom+ , when it comes to managing the situation in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir. It added that any security cover given by a government to a citizen who faces threats, is completely within the domain of the executive."Security issues cannot be handled through judicial proceedings and courts must desist (from) entertaining such issues," the bench chastised ML Sharma, a lawyer who filed the plea in his personal capacity.
The court's comments seem like an about-turn from the ones it made on September 8 when it decided on which date to hear the PIL. At the time, the court said it felt the same as the petitioner who filed the PIL to stop funding the so-called separatists+ .
No comments:
Post a Comment