The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that its Registrar will consider an urgent listing of a plea challenging the restriction on working journalists in the Kashmir valley in the wake of the revocation of Article 370. The plea was filed by Anuradha Bhasin, the Executive Editor of Kashmir Times. Appearing for Bhasin, advocate Vrinda Grover, urged the top court for urgent listing of the case, following which, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra asked the lawyer to mention the plea before the Registrar for urgent listing of the case. Bhasin, in her plea, has sought relaxation on restrictions imposed on the free movement of journalists and media persons. The litigant claimed that Kashmir Times, which is the largest circulated daily in Jammu and Kashmir, was not printed and published due to restrictions on all communication services and movement. She added that the ban was curbing journalists’ rights under the different provisions of the Constitution. Centre recently withdrew special status to Jammu and Kashmir and passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganization) Act 2019, reorganizing the state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir with legislature and Ladakh without it.
