IIOJK court to form Special Bench on plea against ban of 25 Kashmir books
Srinagar: The High Court of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir will constitute a Special Bench to hear a petition challenging the Modi regime’s notification that declared 25 books on Kashmir’s political and social history as “forfeited” under the draconian Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
According to Kashmir Media Service, the petition was mentioned before Chief Justice Arun Palli by senior lawyer Vrinda Grover on behalf of four petitioners, including Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Kapil Kak, historian Dr Sumantra Bose, conflict expert Dr Radha Kumar, and former bureaucrat Wajahat Habibullah. The petition argues that the August 5, 2025, notification is sweeping, arbitrary and devoid of reasons, as it fails to cite any passages from the books to substantiate the charge of “secessionism.” Many of the banned works are academic studies published by leading global presses such as Oxford, Stanford and Cambridge.
The petition contends that the order violates fundamental freedoms of speech and expression and is part of a pattern to erase Kashmir’s history. It cites Indian Supreme Court judgments holding that restrictions on free expression must meet the proportionality test and cannot be omnibus or opaque. The petitioners have sought quashing of the notification, return of all seized copies, and an interim stay to prevent irreversible loss.
Observers say the ban on books reflects India’s wider campaign to silence scholarship, dissent and alternate narratives on the Kashmir dispute. Kashmiris maintain that such suppressive measures expose India’s role as an aggressor and illegal occupier in the UN-recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
