M A I N   N E W S

SC stays J&K Grant of Permit Act

New Delhi, February 1
Taking note of the cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the Supreme Court today stayed the implementation of controversial Act passed by the state providing for the resettlement of people migrated to Pakistan after partition and threatening those who had been allotted their properties.

Giving two weeks time to the state government to file a reply, a Bench comprising Mr Justice G.B. Pattanaik and Mr Justice S.N. Phukan granted stay on two writ petitions after senior advocate K.K. Venugopal submitted that the Act would become a “tool” for entry of terrorists in the state where over 50,000 people have fell victims to militant activities.

Questioning the validity of the J&K Grant of Permit for Resettlement Act, 1982, Venugopal said “Prima facie it is ultra vires of the Constitution.”

The petitions filed by Panther’s Party President Bhim Singh and another person, challenged the legislation on the ground that its implementation threatened the unity and integrity of the country as under this Act any person, who had migrated to Pakistan could claim legal right to settle here.

The Act, which has been in limbo since its enactment in 1982, became a centre of controversy as the J&K Government on November 6 last year decided to implement it. The state took the decision after a five-judge Constitution Bench of the apex Court returned a Presidential reference on the Act unanswered.

“The implementation of the act can bring more than two lakh Pakistanis including descendants of those who were born in that country and many of them trained under Taliban,” the Panthers Party contended. PTI