Jammu and Kashmir high court seeks government reply on highway ban

The case will again come for the hearing on Wednesday after the government files its response. Counsel for the petitioners told the court that people who had been exempted from the ban were still being stopped.

The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Friday sought a response from the government on whether exemptions given to some sections from a ban on civilian traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway had been implemented or not.

The petitioners include J&K People’s Movement founder Shah Faesal, senior People’s Democratic Party leader Naem Akthar, and National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sager. (Photo by Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times)

The case will again come for the hearing on Wednesday after the government files its response. Counsel for the petitioners told the court that people who had been exempted from the ban were still being stopped.

The court was told about a cancer patient travelling in an ambulance that was stopped on the highway on a day when the restrictions were in place and later died. The restrictions were put in place because of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

The petitioners include J&K People’s Movement founder Shah Faesal, senior People’s Democratic Party leader Naem Akthar, and National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sager.