The Supreme Court on Friday said there was no doubt that Jammu and Kashmir have been a hotbed of terrorist insurgencies for many years, and an abrasive statement with imminent threat may be restricted if it impinged upon sovereignty and integrity of the country.
A bench of Justices N V Ramana noted since 1990 to 2019, there have been 71,038 recorded incidents of terrorist violence, leading to the death of 14,038 civilians, 5292 security personnel, and killing of 22,536 terrorists.
“The geopolitical struggle cannot be played down or ignored. Even the broadest guarantee of free speech would not protect the entire gamut of speech,” the bench said.
The court said the government was entitled to restrict the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) if the need is so, in compliance with the requirements under Article 19(2), dealing with the reasonable restrictions.