Shopian Firing: Army veteran files petition in Supreme Court challenging FIR against soldiers

A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the initiation of criminal proceedings against members of the Indian Army, in the wake of the recent Shopian firing incident..The petition was filed by Lt. Col. (Retd.) Karamveer Singh, the father of Major Aditya Kumar, who was named in an FIR dated January 27 under Sections 336, 307 and 302 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) of Jammu & Kashmir..In his petition, the Army veteran gives an account of the incident that led to the filing of the FIR against his son and other personnel..“Army convoy on bonafide military duty in an area under the AFSPA which was isolated by an unruly and deranged mob who were pelting the said vehicles with stones causing damage to the military vehicles which are the property of the Government of India as well as placing the lives of the military personnel and military property within the vehicles in grave peril.”.Subsequently, it is alleged, the situation went out of control, and a warning was issued to the unlawful assembly. The mob paid no heed to this warning and continued pelting vehicles. It is stated that they got hold of a Junior Commissioned Officer and was in the process of lynching him to death. At this point, the convoy fired warning shots, and when they refused to release the officer, shots were fired at the mob. Eight civilians and seven soldiers were injured in the melee, with one civilian succumbing to his injuries on January 31..Singh states in the petition filed though advocate Aishwarya Bhati that the FIR falsely implicates his son, who was not present at the place of the incident. He also goes on to defend the personnel who were there..“The said police authorities in an arbitrary exercise of power named Petitioner’s son as an accused therein knowing fully well that he was not present at the place of the incident and that the personnel so acting were doing lawful military duty peacefully and who, by violent actions of the mob, were forced to take lawful actions for protection of Govt property without any excessive use of force…Army authorities were under orders from their superiors who in turn receive orders from the Government of India as by law established.”.It is stated that the Army Act 1950 is a special legislation that overrides the Code of Criminal Procedure for the state of J&K, under which the FIR was lodged. Thus, the soldiers ought to face Court Martial as per the Army Act, as opposed to being put through the regular criminal procedure..“The words “subject to the provisions of the special law” in Section 1 would mean that if there is an irreconcilable conflict between the provisions of the CrPC and the provisions of the Special Law, the later shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency…..…The Army Act is, therefore, a special law conferring special jurisdiction and powers on Court Martial and prescribes a special form of procedure for the trial of offences under the Army Act.”.Further, the petition invokes the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act 1990 (AFSPA), which empowers Army personnel to use appropriate force for dispersing unruly mobs in disturbed areas. Section 6 of the AFSPA also protects soldiers form prosecution for acting in good faith..However, the applicability of the AFSPA to this incident has been called into question by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti herself..Moreover, the petition states that the RPC, the J&K CrPC as well as the AFSPA all categorize Army personnel under the definition of ‘public servant’ and thus,.“…provision and immunity related and provided to public servant against criminal proceedings will be equally available to them.”.The petition also alludes to a larger conspiracy on the part of local police authorities, who “for whatever reasons have still yet not taken cognizance of these heinous crimes committed by the civilian population of Shopian”..“…police agencies are influenced by a host of extraneous agencies…The frequencies of such atrocities against serving personnel of the Armed Forces of India operating in the State of Jammu and Kashmir are increasing day by day. The important fact of consideration is that there has been voluntarily omission on the part of state civil authorities who were present on spot and did not take any interest in controlling or handling the situation and thus, allowed the situation to become worst….…It is perfectly justifiable therefore, for the Army as a whole as well as the families of each and every serving soldier to feel that they are being treated as dispensable pawns in the game played by the various political entities operating in the State of Jammu and Kashmir who in turn are influencing the police agencies to issue such arbitrary First Information Reports against serving personnel of the Armed Forces of India operating in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.”.Thus, the petitioner has asked the Court to quash the FIR lodged on January 27, and has also asked for a direction to the state government to protect the rights of soldiers who are “harassed by initiation of criminal proceedings for bonafide actions in exercise of their duties”. Further, the petition also calls for adequate compensation to the effected serving personnel and their families who have been “unnecessarily embroiled in malafide criminal proceedings”..Read the petition: