The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday told the Supreme Court that Major Aditya Kumar was not named as an accused in the FIR of the January 27 Shopian firing incident in which three persons were killed.
Taking on record the statement of the State government, the court said there should be no investigation till April 24 in the case.
“Let the matter be listed for final disposal on April 24. In the meantime, there shall be no investigation on the basis of FIR till then,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud said.
On February 12, the court restrained the Jammu and Kashmir police from taking any “coercive steps” against Army officers, including Major Aditya Kumar, who was earlier reportedly named as an accused in the case.
Three persons were killed when Army personnel fired at a mob pelting stones in Ganovpora village of Shopian on January 27 this year, prompting the Chief Minister to order an inquiry into the incident.
The FIR was registered against personnel of 10 Garhwal Rifles under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code (the penal code applicable in Jammu and Kashmir).
The court was hearing the plea of Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh, father of Major Aditya Kumar, seeking to quash the FIR against his son.
The Lieutenant Colonel said in his petition that his son, a Major in 10 Garhwal Rifles, was “wrongly and arbitrarily” named in the FIR as the incident related to an Army convoy that was on bona fide military duty in an area under the AFSPA (Armed Forces [Special Powers] Acts) and was isolated by an “unruly and deranged” mob pelting stones, causing damage to military vehicles.
