J&K Court Sends Three Publishers to 10-Day Police Custody in Books Glorifying Separatists Case
A court in Jammu has remanded three publishers to 10 days of police custody in connection with the alleged publication and circulation of books accused of glorifying separatist leaders and containing anti-national content. The order came after the Counter Intelligence Unit (CIU), Jammu, produced the accused before the court following their arrest as part of an ongoing investigation into controversial books supplied to government school libraries in Jammu and Kashmir.
The three arrested publishers have been identified as Inderpaul of Jammu-based Oberoi Book Service, and Amardeep Singh and Girish Arora of Noida-based Dominant Publishers. Investigators allege that the publishers were involved in printing and distributing books that contained material praising separatist figures, prompting the registration of an FIR under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The investigation centres on two books—“Personalities and Legends of J&K”, authored by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena and published by Oberoi Book Service, and “Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir”, authored by Sushant Giri and published by Anurag Prakashan. According to the police, copies of these books were supplied to government school libraries under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme and allegedly contained content portraying separatist leaders in a favourable light.
The controversy first surfaced earlier this month after objections were raised over the books’ contents. Acting swiftly, the Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered the withdrawal of the books from school libraries, suspended eight officials of the School Education Department, blacklisted the authors and publishers, and initiated a high-level inquiry into how the publications were approved and procured for government institutions.
During the custodial interrogation, investigators are expected to examine the publishers’ role in the preparation, printing and distribution of the books, identify the approval process through which the publications reached government libraries, and ascertain whether any wider conspiracy or negligence was involved. The police are also probing the responsibilities of officials associated with procurement and content verification.
The court’s remand order does not determine the guilt of the accused but enables the investigating agency to continue its probe. The case has sparked a wider debate over the vetting of educational material used in public institutions and the safeguards required to ensure that textbooks and library resources conform to constitutional values while maintaining academic integrity.
