Three lawyers and former IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal have approached the Jammu and Kashmir high court seeking directions to scrap the government order banning movement of civilian vehicles along the Jammu-Srinagar-Baramulla highway on Sunday and Wednesday every week.
The lawyers who have petitioned the high court against thehome department’s order dated April 4 are Raja Faisal Zahoor andShafaqatNazir.
A division bench of Chief Justice GittaMital and JusticeTashiRabstan clubbed the petitions and listed them for consideration onTuesday.
In a separate order, a single bench of Justice RabstanMonday directed that a petition filed by advocate ArifJavid Khan be treated asa public interest litigation (PIL) and listed before the division bench whichis seized of the matter.
In the PIL filed by Shah Faesal through advocateTasaduqKhawja, he has questioned the authority of the state government underwhich it has issued the order under challenge.
“The government order number 353–Home (ISA) of 2019 dated3-4-2019 violates the fundamental rights of the entire population of the stateand all the people of the state are adversely affected by it,” the petitionerhad contended.
Citing the order, the petitioner has pleaded that while haspurportedly been issued for the regulation of civilian traffic during movementof security forces on the highway, “inessence, it bans civilian traffic on highway from Baramulla through Srinagar,Qazigund, Jawhar tunnel, Bahinal and Ramban till Udhampur, from 4am to 5pm fortwo days in a week—Sunday and Wednesday”.
“The highway from Baramulla through Srinagar, Qazigund,Jawhar tunnel, Banihal and Ramban till Udhampur is the only connectivity
to the entirepopulation of Kashmir and Ladakh regions with rest of the country,” thepetition reads.
Seeking direction for quashment of the ban order, Faesal hassought to ensure that no restriction is imposed upon movement of civiliantraffic on the highway and common people are allowed to move freely.
While advocate ArifJavid Khan in his petition pleads thatthe order violates the right to freedom, advocate ShafaqatNazir pleads that incase the order is not quashed, then the high court should declare Wednesday asholiday.
Advocate Raja Faisal through his counsel Shuaib FarooqBanday has pleaded that “the idea of right to freedom of movement is alsoenshrined in Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
“Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residencewithin borders of each State. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civiland Political Rights incorporates this right into Treaty Law”.
It is trite, he pleads, that the fundamental rights of anindividual cannot be taken away or abridged except without following the procedureestablished by law.