case, the Israeli Supreme Court held that such acts were
unconstitutional, and could not be justified in light of the
freedoms and liberties afforded to the citizens of Israel.
Learned senior counsel drew parallels between the situation
faced by the Israeli Supreme Court in the abovementioned
case, and that before this Court, wherein, according to the
learned senior counsel, the State is attempting to justify the
restrictions due to the circumstances prevailing in the State
of Jammu and Kashmir. The learned senior counsel
submitted that such a justification merits rejection as it
would amount to granting too much power to the State to
impose broad restrictions on fundamental rights in varied
situations. It would amount to individual liberty being
subsumed by social control.
The learned senior counsel emphasized on the seriousness
of the present matter, stating that such restrictions on the
fundamental rights is the reason for the placement of Article
32 of the Constitution in Part III, as a fundamental right
which allows for the enforcement of the other fundamental
rights. He referred to the Constituent Assembly debates to
highlight the import of Article 32, as contemplated by the
Members of the Constituent Assembly.
The learned senior counsel also placed before this Court the
Government of India National Telecom Policy, 2012, and
submitted that the wide restrictions imposed by the State
are in contravention of the aforementioned policy. He
submitted that the freedom of speech and expression is
meant to allow people to discuss the burning topic of the
day, including the abrogation of Article 370 of the
Constitution.
Lastly, the learned senior counsel emphasized that the
restrictions that were imposed are meant to be temporary in
nature, have lasted for more than 100 days, which fact
should be taken into account by this Court while deciding
the matter.
Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Senior Counsel for the Intervenor in
I.A. No. 140276 in W.P. (C) No. 1031 of 2019
13
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