The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh last week held that statements that Kashmir is occupied by the military or that people of the region have been reduced to slaves would not be protected by the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, Bar and Bench reported.
The court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Muzamil Butt, seeking to quash an FIR against him under UAPA for Facebook posts criticising the killings of eight civilians in Kulgam district, according to the report. Justice Sanjay Dhar said that Butt had, on his Facebook and other social media platforms, expressed outrage, but in two posts went to the extent of implying that Kashmir has been occupied by the military, which is like a cancer, and also that people of Kashmir are like slaves of the government.
