Srinagar, Dec 22: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has granted the government more time to file objections to a batch of pleas challenging the administration’s notification that declared 25 books as “forfeited” in Jammu and Kashmir.
A full bench headed by Chief Justice Arun Palli and comprising Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Shahzad Azeem adjourned the matter to February 11 next year, while making it clear that in case the response was not filed, appropriate orders would follow.
The petitions have been filed by Shakir Shabir, Swastik Singh, David Devadas, CPI(M) leader Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, and others.
The petition filed by Kak and others, including Sumantra Bose, whose two books have been forfeited, author Radha Kumar, and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, has invoked Section 99 of the BNSS to set aside the order of forfeiture.
The petitioners contend that merely quoting statutory provisions without detailing specific grounds is insufficient and that the notification fails to distinguish between the government’s “opinion” and the “grounds” for that opinion, which must be evident in the order itself.
The pleas underscore that the ban order contains mere broad statements, without elaborating on how the contents of the books impact national security or honest narratives.
According to the pleas, the forfeiture order did not detail how the 25 books were identified as secessionist.
The petitioners seek to quash the notification dated August 5, 2025, issued by the Home Department of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir that declared the 25 listed books as forfeited.
The books include political commentaries and historical accounts like The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012 by noted constitutional expert A G Noorani; Kashmir at the Crossroads and Contested Lands by Sumantra Bose; In Search of a Future: The Kashmir Story by David Devadas; Arundhati Roy’s Azadi; and A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370 by journalist Anuradha Bhasin.