The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday took control of the premises of the crisis-hit Kashmir Press Club and declared the body illegal before blaming the journalists for its fall.

The move came after days of high drama during which the government first put the club’s recently issued re-registration on hold and purportedly tried to seek control of the body through a group of “friendly” journalists when the club’s ad hoc body declared elections.

The government faced a massive backlash with top politicians and journalists’ bodies, including Editors Guild of India, describing it as a “state sponsored coup” or “armed take-over”.

As its efforts appeared to boomerang, the government proceeded to take direct action.

The administration on Monday said it was concerned over the “unpleasant turn of events involving two rival warring groups using the banner of the Kashmir Press Club”, and concluded that “the intervention has become necessary”.

“The factual position is that KPC as a registered body has ceased to exist and its managing body too has come to a legal closure on July 14, 2021, the date on which its tenure came to an end,” a spokesman for the government said.

“In its failure to register itself under the central Societies of Registration Act, further compounded by its failure to hold elections to constitute a new managing body, some individuals of the erstwhile club have been committing illegalities on several counts, least of which are false portrayal of being owner-managers of an entity which is no longer in legal vogue.”

The spokesman said some members had created an “interim body” using the same banner suggesting a “takeover” but since “original KPC itself has ceased to exist as registered body, the question of any interim body is rendered infructuous”.

Then came a clear warning to journalists to desist from issuing statements on behalf of the Kashmir Press Club.

“In these circumstances, issuing of notices and communication by any group using the rubric of erstwhile Kashmir Press Club is illegal,” the spokesman said.

The government claimed there was a potential law-and-order situation as it announced the takeover of the KPC premises.

“In view of the unpleasant developments and dissension between various groups of journalists, it has been decided that the allotment of the premises at Polo View in view of the now deregistered Kashmir Press Club be cancelled and control of land and buildings situated at Polo View Srinagar, which belongs to the estates department, be reverted back to the said department,” the spokesman said.

The only concession that journalists got is that the government hoped a “duly registered bona fide society of all journalists shall be constituted as soon as possible and the same shall be able to approach the government for reallocation of the premises”.

However, that is unlikely as the government seems to be in no mood to relax its crackdown on dissent.

For the past two years, Kashmir High Court Bar Association has been unsuccessfully struggling to hold elections in the face of stiff government opposition.

The government statement has no mention that it was the administration itself that was solely responsible for the club’s failure to re-register or hold elections.

Last year, the government asked all societies in J&K to re-register and the club lost no time in applying for the same, which, according to outgoing officer-bearers, alone could have paved the way for fresh elections.

The KPC elections were due in July 2021 when the two-year term of the previous executive committee ended. The elections got delayed due to the lengthy re-registration process and the previous office-bearers continued as an ad hoc body in the meantime. On December 29, it got re-registration and elections were announced to be held on February 24.

Ishfaq Tantray, general secretary of the now ad hoc body, said the government’s ultimate goal was to shut the club and first began by installing a group of journalists.

“All they wanted was to stifle the voice of journalists and make the only democratically elected body dysfunctional,” Tantray said.

“But journalists will keep the flame glowing. We have thrived in the worst of the times and will survive this as well,” he added.

Editor of Kashmir Times Anuradha Bhasin took to Twitter to explain the chronology.

“Chronology Samajhiye:

-Deregister Press Club

-Stage a coup with police backed self styled group

-Call it warring factions

-Lockdown

-Declare Press Club non existent

-Take back premises

Might is Right”, she tweeted.

Some journalists wrote poignant obituaries for the club.

“A place, which will be dearly missed, is now abrogated! Kashmir Press Club that was home for us especially, post abrogation of article 370. With this move, the option to work in a free space, share ideas with senior journalists (for freelance journalists like me) is also gone!” wrote journalist Quratulain Rehbar.