Shopian firing: SC restrains J&K govt from taking action against army Major

SC restrains Jammu and Kashmir government from taking any coercive action against Army officials allegedly involved in Shopian firing case.

SC asks J&K govt to file its response within two weeks to a plea by the father of accused Major Aditya Kumar.

Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh said his son, a major in 10 Garhwal Rifles, was "wrongly and arbitrarily" named in the FIR as the incident relates to an Army convoy that was on bonafide military duty in an area under the AFSPA and was isolated by an "unruly and deranged" mob pelting stones, causing damage to military vehicles.

Two civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at a stone-pelting mob in Ganovpora village in Shopian, prompting the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident.

The plea, filed by Vineet Dhanda, an advocate, said a direction be given to the Jammu and Kashmir government not to withdraw the cases against 9,730 people allegedly involved in stone-pelting incidents and show seriousness in the cases registered against the offenders or stone pelters in the Kashmir Valley.

The petition was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud which said it would hear it on February 12.

It also sought a direction for an inquiry by a sitting high court judge into the FIR registered against personnel of 10 Garhwal Rifles, including Major Aditya Kumar, under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code at Shopian police station in Kashmir on January 27.