Govt needs time to bring back normalcy in J&K: SC

 The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Centre government required time to bring back normalcy in the Kashmir Valley as nothing can be done overnight.

An apex court bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra made the observation when the Central government informed the court that it was doing everything necessary to maintain law and order in Jammu and Kashmir.

Thereafter, the court deferred after two weeks the hearing on a petition filed by Congress leader Tehseen Poonawalla challenging the Centre's decision to impose restrictions and "other regressive measures" in Jammu and Kashmir.

The court stressed that it was a "serious issue" and said that it would not interfere right now in the situation and let the government continue with its efforts to maintain law and order in the Valley.

The Central government, assuring the court that normalcy would be restored in the Valley in a few days, said that in the 2016 disturbances 47 persons were killed but this time not a single person had died.

The government also informed the court that they were reviewing the situation day by day and were committed to ensuring least human rights violations.

Last week, Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was revoked and curfew imposed to curb attempts at disturbing law and order in the state. IANS