Srinagar, Dec 10: A senior police officer stated on Sunday that sufficient security measures have been taken to guarantee a calm environment in Kashmir as the Supreme Court is set to deliver its decision on Monday regarding a number of petitions contesting the Center’s August 2019 repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution. “Under all circumstances, it is our duty to ensure that peace prevails in the valley,” stated Kashmir Zone V K Birdi, Inspector General of Police (IGP). On August 5, 2019, the Supreme Court scheduled a judgement date for the petitions contesting the Center’s abrogation of Article 370’s provisions and division of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into Union territories. On September 5, a five-judge panel of the highest court will decide on the petitions after holding daily hearings beginning on August 2. Although the IGP declined to provide details about the security setup scheduled for Monday, he did state that “adequate arrangements” have been made. “We will make sure that peace in Kashmir is not disrupted,” stated Birdi, who over the past two weeks conducted security review meetings in the majority of the ten valley districts. When asked if orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) concerning social media misuse had anything to do with the anticipated ruling by the Supreme Court, he responded that there had been multiple instances of certain individuals attempting to incite people. “Recently, there have been multiple posts that attempted to incite people. He stated that “action has been taken against such elements in the past and action will be taken going forward.” Under CrPC section 144, the local authorities have released guidelines for social media users to prevent the dissemination of content that is sensitive to community issues or encourages terrorism and secessionism. Police in multiple districts released a circular stating, “The guidelines aim to provide clarity on actions citizens should take when encountering content related to terrorism, secessionism, threats, intimidation, or communally-sensitive material on social media platforms.” As per the guidelines, the citizens are expected to report any suspicious activity right away and to help maintain a safe online environment. The guidelines stated, “Report a message containing objectionable content as soon as possible to the closest police station or police post, along with a screenshot and detailed information.” In the event that users unintentionally share offensive content, they are urged to “recall messages promptly.”Political parties in Kashmir are hesitant to express what they would like to see the Supreme Court rule on. Omar Abdullah, vice-president of the National Conference (NC), stated that he can only hope and pray that the people of Jammu and Kashmir will be the beneficiaries of the decision. Who will have the authority to declare what will happen? I lack the necessary tools or methods to ascertain what the five honourable judges have on their minds or what they have written in their ruling. “Neither myself nor anybody else can assert that success will be ours; all I can do is hope and pray that the decision is in our favour. We are awaiting the verdict. When it arrives, we’ll discuss it then,” he stated. Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), stated that it is the duty of the supreme court to uphold the integrity of the nation and its Constitution rather than advance the agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to Mufti, the court’s ruling should make it abundantly evident that the BJP-led Centre’s decision on August 5, 2019, to repeal Article 370 was “illegal, unconstitutional,” and that it went against the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their promises.“Whatever was done on August 5, 2019, was illegal, unconstitutional, against Jammu and Kashmir and the promises made to the people here, and that should be the simple decision,” the speaker stated.
