Shopian firing: SC to hear plea for quashing FIR against armymen

The Supreme Court would consider on Monday a plea by the father of Major Aditya Kumar, seeking quashing of an FIR registered against his son and other army personnel for opening fire on an "unruly mob" in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian on January 27, resulting in the death of three civilians.

A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Dipak Misra agreed to hear the writ petition filed by Lt Col Karamveer Singh, a decorated army officer, on behalf of his son, claiming the FIR would have a "numbing effect on the morale of the extremely courageous and professional armed forces of the nation."

The court fixed the petition for hearing on February 12 on an urgent mention made by Singh's counsel advocate Aishwaya Bhati. A similar petition was also mentioned by advocate J P Dhanda.

The army convoy, operating in the area covered under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, was attacked by an unruly mob and they got hold of a junior commissioned officer and were about to lynch him, forcing the personnel to open fire lawfully as part of their bona fide duties, the petitioner claimed.

His petition claimed that his son Major Kumar was not even present at the place of the incident.

The "brutal and senseless mob lynching" of JKP DSP, Mohd Ayub Pandith on June 23, 2017 in Srinagar is a sad but true reminder of the nature of uncontrolled mob in these areas, he added.

The manner in which lodging of the FIR has been portrayed and projected by the political leadership and administrative higher ups of the state, reflected the extremely hostile atmosphere over there, he contended, demanding an investigation in the matter in another state.

The petitioner, among others, sought guidelines to protect the army men from harassment of criminal proceedings for their bona fide actions and payment of compensation of those embroiled in such cases.

He sought direction for lodging of cases against those involved in "terrorist activities".