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| SC to hear plea for quashing of FIR against Major Aditya today | | Shopian firing incident | | Agencies
NEW DELHI, Feb 11: The on Friday agreed to hear the plea of Kargil veteran Lieutenant Colonel seeking the quashing of an FIR lodged by the Jammu & Kashmir police+ against his son over the firing incident in .
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud considered advocate Aishwarya Bhati's submission that the plea be heard on an urgent basis and fixed the case for hearing on February 12.
In the plea, filed yesterday through 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 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 action in the exercise of their duties.
He also sought the registration of an FIR against those involved in the terrorist activities which had caused damage to property of the government.
The Army, too, contends that Major Aditya of the 10 Garhwal Rifles was leading the "administrative convoy" and was some distance away from the site where the firing occurred at Ganwapora in late January.
The Army has maintained that its soldiers had only opened "controlled fire in self-defence" after issuing several warnings to the violent 200-people-strong mob pelting stones on its convoy at Shopian in south Kashmir. The conflict left three civilians dead and seven soldiers injured.
Aside from the FIR, the state government headed by chief minister Mehbooba Mufti also instituted a magisterial inquiry+ to look into the matter and submit its report within 20 days. |
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