Azadi by Booker winner Arundhati Roy

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir high court has set up a three-judge full bench to hear a clutch of petitions challenging the Union territory administration’s ban on 25 books. At the centre of the dispute is an August 5 order by J&K home department, which banned the publication and circulation of these books, including Azadi by Booker winner Arundhati Roy, claiming they promote “false narratives” and “secessionism”.The court’s move follows its September 30 observation that the issue warranted consideration by a larger bench, given the constitutional questions involved. The bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli, Justice Rajnesh Oswal, and Justice Shahzad Azeem will take up the matter Monday.The home department said it had “credible intelligence” indicating that “a significant driver behind youth participation in violence and terrorism has been the systematic dissemination of false narratives and secessionist literature… disguised as historical or political commentary”. The order alleged the material glorified terrorism and incited violence.The petitions — filed separately by journalist David Devadas, CPM MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, retired Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak, advocate Shakir Shabir, and Swastik Singh — contend that govt’s order violates the constitutional guarantee of free speech. They describe the administration’s decision as a “sweeping and unreasoned forfeiture” of literary work under Section 95 of CrPC.Among the banned titles are In Search of a Future by David Devadas, A Dismantled State: The Untold Story of Kashmir After Article 370 by Anuradha Bhasin, and Colonizing Kashmir by Hafsa Kanjwal.Following the ban, police searched bookshops across J&K and seized several of the publications.