‘Not to be kept in cupboard,' SC asks Centre to spell out if review orders published on J&K Internet ban

'It may not be necessary to publish the deliberations, however the orders passing the review would be required to be published,' the bench said in its order, after hearing submissions.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to publish the review orders in connection with internet restriction, stating that they are not supposed to be kept in the cupboard.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sanjay Karol rejected a contention by Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj appearing for the Union Territory that the instant plea before the court sought publications of deliberations related to such ban imposed during the time of dilution of Article 370 of the Constitution.

The court gave him two weeks time to seek instructions in the matter.

The law officer, at the outset, questioned the petitioner's plea for publication of information on deliberations in connection with review orders relating to internet restrictions in UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

On this, the bench told Nataraj, “Forget about deliberations, you publish the orders….are you making a statement that review orders will be published?”

Nataraj said he needed to get instructions in the matter.

“It may not be necessary to publish the deliberations, however the orders passing the review would be required to be published," the bench noted in its order, after hearing submissions.

NGO Foundation of Media Professionals sought a direction for publication of review orders. Advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the petitioner, said the review orders are something to be passed under the statute and therefore they must be published, and the authorities are saying that the special committee report does not have to be published.

"There may be national security reasons, but the review order is a statutory order, and the apex court has clearly said that the main order and review must be published," he said.

Nataraj said all these issues had arisen during the curbs (after the abrogation of the Article 370) and all those prayers have been complied and even the contempt had been dismissed.

Now the petitioner is coming out with a new prayer (regarding a direction to be passed by the court), he contended.

Referring to the Anuradha Bhasin judgment of the apex court, the bench said, “The review orders are not to be kept in the cupboard”.

The bench also asked Nataraj to show it is not necessary to publish the review orders.

The bench noted that Farasat said the apex court in the judgment in the Anuradha Bhasin case had held that even the review orders are required to be published and the same are not being done in UT of Jammu and Kashmir.