Supreme Court to hear on tourist safety

In the wake of the recent horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people, including 25 tourists, were killed, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed seeking to strengthen the safety of tourists travelling to hilly and remote areas. The Supreme Court will hear the case on Monday.

According to the causelist of the Supreme Court, a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. K. Singh will hear the case on May 5.

The petition said that there is no clear direction or urgent action regarding safety in the tourist areas of the country, especially in remote areas. It has been claimed that there are no government guidelines on how people should save themselves, where to seek help or where to hide in times of panic.

According to the petitioner, the innocent tourists in Pahalgam became easy targets because they were unarmed and defenseless. This is the first time that so many tourists have been killed together, which raises big questions about the safety of the common man.

 The petition further states that it is difficult to carry out attacks in urban areas due to police patrolling, but it is easy to target tourists in hilly and remote areas. Therefore, additional security is needed in these areas, especially during the summer when the tourist rush is high.

The petition also alleges that the country's dignitaries are always shrouded in security, roads are closed for the common people during their travel, a large number of security guards are deployed for them - but the safety of the common citizens is always neglected.

However, the Supreme Court has already dismissed another petition, which demanded the formation of an inquiry committee headed by a retired judge to investigate the Pahalgam attack. At that time, Justice Suryakant said in strong language, "We judges are not investigators, our job is to judge. Such petitions can break the morale of our army. At this time, we all have to unite and fight terrorism."

He also said, "At this sensitive moment, nothing can be prayed for that will hurt the morale of our forces. The petition must be filed responsibly."In this context, the administration and the courts are being forced to rethink the safety of the common man after the Pahalgam attack. Now let's see what the court orders in the wake of this PIL.