HC defers hearing of book ban upto Feb 11

Srinagar, Dec 22: The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has adjourned the hearing on petitions challenging the J&K government’s decision to forfeit 25 books on Kashmir, observing that the respondents failed to file their objections despite being granted sufficient opportunity.

A three-judge special bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli, Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Shahzad Azeem, while passing an order in the first week of December, noted that the Union Territory administration had not submitted its response in the matter.

Though the court observed that there was “hardly any justification” to defer the proceedings, it adjourned the case to February 11, 2026, after the government counsel undertook to file objections at least three days prior to the next date of hearing.

The bench, however, made it clear that appropriate orders would follow in the event of default.

The petitions challenge the Home Department’s August 5 notification ordering the forfeiture of 25 publications under Section 95 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), alleging that the books propagate “false narratives and secessionism.”

The challenge has been mounted through four separate petitions filed by journalist David Devadas, retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak and others, advocate Shakir Shabir, and Swastik Singh. The petitioners contend that the notification is arbitrary, unconstitutional and violative of freedom of speech and expression.

On August 5, the J&K Home Department, under the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, banned 25 books related to Kashmir, including works by noted authors such as Arundhati Roy and constitutional expert A.G. Noorani, citing allegations of secessionism.

The banned list includes titles such as The Kashmir Dispute 1947–2012 by Noorani, Kashmir at the Crossroads and Contested Lands by Sumantra Bose, In Search of a Future: The Kashmir Story by David Devadas, Roy’s Azadi, and A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370 by journalist Anuradha Bhasin. J&K’s elected government is not a party to the case, as it did not issue the ban order.

Earlier, a public interest litigation challenging the ban was filed before the Supreme Court. However, the apex court advised the petitioner to approach the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, following which the matter came to be heard by the Full Bench.

The case will now be taken up on February 11, 2026.