The father of Army officer Aditya Kumar, named as an accused in an FIR filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police for opening fire at protestors in Shopian district and killing three of them, moved the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking an order to quash the criminal proceedings.
He also demanded guidelines to protect the dignity of soldiers acting in the line of duty.
Lt. Colonel Karamveer Singh, a Kargil War veteran, said the FIR against serving Army personnel had a “numbing effect” on the morale of soldiers operating against odds in “inhospitable terrains” to “uphold the dignity of the Indian Flag.”
The petition, filed by advocate Aishwarya Bhati, recounted that on January 27, a mob had isolated and attacked an Army convoy. They threw stones at military vehicles and tried to lynch a Junior Commissioned Officer, after which warning shots were fired. “The unlawful assembly refused to spare the Junior Commissioned Officer and, therefore, fire was lawfully opened on the unlawful assembly with the aim of dispersing the violent mob and protecting government servants and property,” the petition submitted.
He said his son was not present at the spot.
The petitioner asked the Supreme Court to order compensation for the soldiers involved and direct the registration of an FIR against the “mob.”
Terrorist activity
The petition said the soldiers were made “targets of the unlawful assembly’s rage and lack of basic human morality.” It described the conduct of the mob as “terrorist activity.”
The petition said the manner in which the J&K political leadership and administrative higher-ups have projected the FIR against the Army personnel reflects the “extremely hostile atmosphere in the State.”
