Asking the J&K police not to go ahead with proceedings, the top court said the case involved an army officer and not an ordinary criminal
From page 01 NEWDELHI: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday told the Supreme Court that Major Aditya Kumar was not named in the Shopian firing FIR, as the court put on hold till April 24 the probe into the incident that left three civilians dead.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Kumar’s father, lieutenant colonel Karamveer Singh, who wanted the FIR quashed. The court had on February 12 stayed criminal proceedings against Kumar after Lt Col Singh said his son was performing his duty and had been “wrongly and arbitrarily” named.
“Let the matter be listed for final disposal on April 24. In the meantime, there shall be no investigation on the basis of FIR till then,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justice AM Khanwilkar and justice DY Chandrachud said.
Asking the police not to go ahead with proceedings, the court said the case involved an army officer and not an ordinary criminal. “This does not mean he has the licence to kill,” the counsel for the state government said, objecting to the stay on proceedings. The FIR accuses the 10 Garhwal Rifles unit of murder, attempt to murder and endangering life. The court’s order means police cannot summon the soldiers for interrogation or ask them to participate in investigations into the incident. The Centre had argued that police could not have instituted an FIR against Kumar without its permission.
Saying that Kumar was not named in the FIR as an accused, the state government told the court the Centre’s nod was not required to probe an allegation. The permission would be needed at the time of filing of charge sheet, it said. The FIR had created a huge uproar and pitted ruling partners PDP and BJP against each other in the border state.
