SC rejects plea for choking govt funds to J-K separatists

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a PIL for stopping official funds to separatists and their organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, observing that it was better to let the government handle the security aspect without judicial interference.
A Bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit rejected petitioner ML Sharma’s contention that Central and state funds were going to separatists. It was the petitioner who was calling the beneficiaries separatists, not the government, it remarked.
“We are of the considered opinion that the grant of funds for purposes of security or otherwise is within the executive domain of the Central Government. In a matter like this, a PIL does not deserve to be entertained,: the Bench said.
Further, cases of this nature were not “judicially manageable” and as such courts should refrain from entering the area, the Bench clarified. During the hearing, it said it was the duty of the Centre to ensure unity and integrity of the nation. If there was a threat perception, the government was free to provide security. In matters of national security, courts had a minimum role, it explained. “Who asked you to protect this country?” it asked the petitioner.
Sharma had taken exception to the state and the Centre spending huge amounts on separatists by meeting their travel and medical expenses and providing security cover to them. He had sought criminal proceedings against authorities for promoting terrorism and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
He had also pleaded for a CBI probe into the reported release of Rs 950 crore to such anti-national persons by the Centre and the state government in the past five years. The petitioner said the funds were released without the approval of Parliament and even the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had failed to bring out this fact. The government had spent Rs 21 crore on their stay in luxury hotels and Rs 26.43 crore on their travel, he said citing official data and media reports.
 
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