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| Handwara incident: HC reserves verdict on judicial probe | | | Early Times Report
srinagar, Apr 26 : The State High Court today reserved its verdict on a Public Interest Litigation, demanding a judicial probe by a sitting judge in the alleged molestation of a school girl in Handwara and the subsequent killing of five persons in firing by Government forces in the north Kashmir's frontier district.
A Division Bench of the Court comparing Justice A M Magrey and Justice Tashi Rabstan reserved the decision after hearing petitioner, High Court Bar Association through its president Mian Abdul Qayoom and Advocate General D C Raina.
Opposing the probe by a sitting judge, advocate general pleaded that Supreme Court has sounded a caution that the option should be sparsely exercised in extreme situations if credibility of the institution is in question.
"The court is not powerless to order a Judicial probe by a sitting judge, but at the very threshold it is premature to demand judicial probe without allowing the agency to carry forward the probe" he said and added the SC has discouraged such probe as it would create unnecessary burden on judges.
"The newspaper reports cannot be the basis of a PIL as the newspaper reports have no evidence value and cannot be relied upon always," he said.
In its objection to the PIL, the government said that it has constituted a seven-member special investigation team headed by DIG north Kashmir for "speedy investigation" of cases.
"The respondents along with the common masses fully trust the institutions of government who in no way are asking for an alternative probes. The respondents believe that in the instant case, the state machinery is competent enough to bring all culprits to book even for the slightest crime," the government said, assuring that justice will prevail in the case.
The government also termed as 'baseless' the KHCBA's plea that that minor girl and his father were illegally detained by police. "The allegations are politically motivated and need not to be considered in light of the issue under reference. It is however submitted that they were under protective custody which was provided to them after girl's father submitted an application about threat."
Qayoom said there are no chances of getting a fair deal at the hands of the government agencies as they are determined to save the "perpetrators" of the crime, therefore, it is now for the court to act and provide relief to the people by ordering a high level judicial probe to be headed by a sitting judge of the High Court.
The sitting judge, he said, shall be assisted by a high-level investigating team to be headed by a credible police officer of the rank of an IGP, so that the FIRs registered at Handwara, Drugmulla, Natnusa, and Kupwara are also investigated simultaneously and final reports in term of section 173 Cr PC filed before the appropriate court. "Whosoever, is found guilty in the molestation of the minor girl and the killing of innocent civilians be punished according to law," he said.
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