J K News Today
Jammu, February 9:
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the petition of father of Major Aditya to quash the FIR lodged against his son and other army personnel filed by the Jammu and Kashmir police following an incident of army firing on a stone throwing mob in Shopian on January 27 .
Three persons were killed in the firing, while eight army personnel, including an officer were critically injured in the stone throwing .
On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the plea of Kargil veteran Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh for the quashing of an FIR lodged by the Jammu & Kashmir police against his son Major Aditya Kumar over the firing incident in Shopian.
The case will be heard on February 12.
In the plea, filed yesterday through advocate Aishwarya Bhati, Singh said that the authorities were aware that the Major “was not there,” but “in an arbitrary exercise of power, named my son as an accused.”
He said that the FIR – which booked Major Aditya and the 10 Garhwal Rifles for murder and attempt to murder – will hurt the morale of Army personnel in the discharge of their duty.
“Army personnel present there were doing lawful military duty peacefully and who, by violent actions of the mob, were forced to take lawful actions for protection of government property without any excessive use of force,” the petition said.
The petition highlighted that “violent mobs in Kashmir area have frequently obstructed bonafide government duties and even resorted to lynching and killing of government officials.”
The petitioner also sought directions to issue guidelines to protect the rights of soldiers and for adequate compensation, so that no Army personnel is harassed by the initiation of criminal proceedings for bonafide actions in the exercise of their duties.
