Srinagar- A three-judge Full Bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, headed by Chief Justice Arun Palli, will on Monday hear five petitions challenging a government notification that ordered the forfeiture of 25 books under Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

The bench, also comprising Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Shahzad Azeem , are scheduled to hear pleas filed by Shakir Shabir, Swastik Singh, David Devadas, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami and Air Vice Marshal Kapil Kak and others.

The Books ordered to be forfeited by virtue of notification on 5 August this year as per the government propagate false narrative and secessionism in Kashmir.

The petition filed by Kak and others including Dr. Sumantra Bose, whose two books have been forfeited; author Dr. Radha Kumar; and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah have invoked Section 99 of BNSS to set aside the order of forfeiture.

“The conspectus of the 25 books pertains largely to the socio-political life of Kashmir and the myriad political struggles interwoven into the cultural history of the valley. These books, most of which are works of academia, serve as records in the discipline of history,” the petition said.

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