J-K High Court asks state govt to submit report in 6 weeks

Jammu and Kashmir High Court has given six weeks time to state government to submit a report on why only 17 killings out of the 117 during the 2010 summer unrest in the valley were referred to the inquiry commission probing the deaths.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Hasnain Masoodi yesterday directed the government to submit the report by or before July 22.
The division bench also directed the Centre and the state government to consider the cases for compensation to the next of kin of the victims who died in the unrest after October 2, 2010.

The division bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by chairman of separatist JKLF Mohammad Yasin Malik.
On October 8 last year, the court had asked the state government to explain the 'rationale' behind limiting the commission of inquiry to only 17 civilian killings that took place during 2010 unrest in Kashmir.
The Centre in March this year informed the court that it has already disbursed Rs 5.1 crores to Jammu and Kashmir Government for 102 families who lost their kin during the agitation.

The state government on July 29, 2010 constituted a commission of inquiry consisting of Justices (retired) Syed Bashiruddin and Y P Nargotra to probe the 17 killings that had taken place at the beginning of the summer unrest.

However, the commission could not start functioning as CRPF had moved a petition against Justice Bashiruddin claiming that he was biased against the force.
Justice Nargotra could not continue on the commission as he was appointed as chairman of the State Accountability Commission in 2011.