J-K HC refuses to ban use of pepper gas, pellet guns by cops

Jammu and Kashmir High Court today dismissed petitions seeking a ban on use of pepper gas and pellet guns against mobs by law enforcement agencies in the state.
The public interest litigations, moved earlier this year by two advocates and moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference, were dismissed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magray.
The state government contended that the petitions do not serve any public interest, but seem to be an attempt by the petitioners to gain publicity over a very sensitive issue.
"J&K Police stands committed to protect and preserve the life and property of the people and at the same time maintains normalcy and peace in the state so that no hardship or disturbance is caused to the people.

"The actions taken to achieve this goal are based solely on good faith and are backed by the mandate of law," the government said.
To ensure minimum loss of life and damage to the property, the law enforcing agencies have procured for use various non-lethal munitions including tear smoke shells and oleoresin grenades to disperse unruly mobs.

"These tear smoke and oleoresin grenades are internationally accepted non-lethal means of controlling unruly mobs to restore law and order.
"As such it becomes imperative for police to use force for controlling the mobs by using non-lethal weapons like tear smoke gas and oleoresin grenades to avoid causalities," the government argued.

It said the members of stone pelting mobs, besides pelting stones, also use catapults and petrol bombs to attack the security forces giving them the least chance to disperse those unruly mobs by means of lathi charge.
Advocates Mian Tufail and Nasir Qadri filed the PIL in March seeking a ban on the use of pepper gas and pellet guns contending that these affects vital organs of human body and cause severe problems to patients especially those suffering from chest diseases.
In May, moderate Hurriyat Conference also filed a PIL demanding a ban on the use of pellet guns and pepper gas - introduced in the aftermath of summer agitation of 2010 which left over 120 protesters dead.