News Analysis India

Tag: J&K High Court

  • Family of youth killed in Hyderpora encounter moves HC to seek return of son’s body

    By Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: Two days after J&K Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) claimed that Amir Magray hailing from Ramban, who was one of the four persons killed in the November 15 encounter in Hyderpora area in Srinagar, was a militant and associate of a foreign militant killed in the gunfight, his family Thursday filed a petition in J&K High Court seeking the return of his son’s body for burial.

    Amir’s father, Mohammad Latief Magray filed the petition in J&K High Court today through counsels Deepika Singh Rajawat and Mohammad Arshad Chowdhary.

    “The petitioner knew everything good and bad about him (Amir), thus can state on oath that his son was never involved in any anti-national activities or was associated with any such outfit that conspires to bring harm to the nation,” reads the petition.

    Amir’s father has invoked Article 21 of the Indian Constitution to seek a rerun of his son’s body.

    After the November 15 encounter, police had buried bodies of all four killed – Pakistani militant, Amir, Dr Mudasir Gul, and Altaf Bhat (both businessmen from Srinagar) in a graveyard in Handwara in north Kashmir. However, after protests by the families of Mudasir and Altaf, the bodies of Mudasir and Altaf were exhumed and handed over to their families for burial at their native places.

    The petition states that the petitioner was working as a source with the Indian army so he had special acumen and expertise to sense anything indifferent. “And in case Amir would have indulged in anti-national activities, the petitioner would have been the first to notice it and had made efforts to bring him back home, if not reported the same to the authorities. But, never such sort of thing was observed by the petitioner, who was in constant contact with Amir, till November 14 evening”.

    The petition further states that at the tender age of 10, Amir assisted his father and his mother in fighting a militant and got him neutralized in Gaol despite knowing that the dreaded militant outfit may avenge the killing of their partner.

    “This shows that Amir was always against anti-national outfits and militants,” it adds.

    Meanwhile, National Conference chief and former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah on Thursday demanded a judicial inquiry into the Hyderpora encounter and claimed that the recent SIT probe report on the encounter is false.

    “I believe that the police report is false. The police have done it to save themselves. Police killed them and there is no doubt about that. I believe a judicial inquiry should be conducted,” former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir told the media persons in Srinagar.

    (With ANI inputs.)

  • J&K High Court quashes FIR against journalist for story on custodial torture by police

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed an FIR registered against a Jammu-based journalist in 2018 for publishing a story on custodial torture by the police.

    J&K High Court Justice Rajnesh Oswal observed that publishing a news item on the basis of information obtained by a reporter from an identifiable source cannot be grounds for lodging an FIR.

    The High Court while quashing FIR (No.117/2018 dated 12 May 2018) lodged by police against journalist Asif Iqbal Naik reporting for Jammu-based English daily “Early Times” held that the mode and manner in which the FIR has been lodged clearly reflects the malafide intent on the part of the police as they could have given out their version by a similar means.

    “But they chose a unique method of silencing the petitioner and it is undoubtedly an attack on the freedom of the press,” the judge said.

    Journalist Asif Naik through his counsel had approached the High Court and sought quashing of the FIR registered against him at Kishtwar police station for filing a story “Father of 5 brutally tortured by Kishtwar Police” published in Early Times in April 2018.

    The court said, “It is needless to say the press is often referred to as the 4th pillar of democracy and freedom of the press is vital for the functioning of any democratic country like India. No fetters can be placed on the freedom of the press by registering the FIR against a reporter, who was performing his professional duty by publishing a news item on the basis of information obtained by him from an identifiable source.”

    The court said that the publication of the news item on the basis of a statement made by the cousin of the person who was tortured does not amount to an offence under Section 499 RPC as the petitioner performed his professional duty of reporting the matter.

    “Prima facie there is nothing in the FIR showing that the petitioner desired to generate the consequences as claimed by police and rather he has performed his professional duty,” further stated the judge.

    Welcoming the court verdict, journalist Asif Naik termed it a “big day”.

    “A big day indeed: JK High Court upheld freedom of press, snub police for misuse of process of law against journalist Asif Iqbal Naik. Quashed FIR registered against me,” tweeted Asif Naik.

    In a video message, he said journalism is not a crime. “However, on occasion, journalism brings a lot of hardships to journalists,” he added.

  • Converted to Islam on my own: Girl to High Court

    Express News Service
    SRINAGAR: Even as Sikh groups alleged that two Sikh girls were forcibly converted and wedded to elderly men of a different religion in J&K, one of the girls, 18, in her affidavit submitted in the High Court claimed that they had eloped and married with the Muslim youths and converted to Islam of their own will.

    In the affidavit, the girl, born on February 19, 1995, has stated that she had on her own will with a sound mind and without any force from any quarters made a declaration qua conversion to Islam. The girl added that she being a major has married the youth of her own free will and necessary requirements have been fulfilled as required in terms of the law. She also alleged that there was a persistent life threat to her and her husband as she married him going against her family. 

    The court has directed the police not to take any coercive steps against the girl and her husband in pursuance of the case if any registered. The Sikh groups, however, alleged that the girls were forcibly married and converted to Islam.

    “One of the girls, who is 18, has married to a 45-year-old man, who already had three children. It is unacceptable,” said All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) chairman Jagmohan Singh. The court, however, has handed over the girl to her family. The Sikh groups are now seeking to annul her marriage. 

    Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (GPC) Budgam president Santpal Singh said: “The girls said they were talking of justice. How can an 18-year-old girl marry a 45-year-old man, who already has kids?”  Both the APSCC president and GPC Budgam president demanded that a law should be enacted to ban all inter-faith marriages in J&K.

    ‘No place for forcible conversion’

    Conversion to Islam has to be by one’s conviction and choice without any compulsion. Let there be an impartial probe, J&K’s grand mufti Nasir-ul-Islam said.