No Country for Justice

Gautam Navlakha writes:

An ominous sign of jingoism triumphing over the course of justice in Kashmir is the simulated concern over an army officer’s plight against whom an FIR (first information report) was sought to be filed after the firing incident on 27 January in Gawanpora village of Shopian district. On 12 February, a petition seeking to “protect the morale of the soldiers” was heard by a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Court ruled in an ex parte order that no “coercive action” be initiated against Major Aditya Kumar of 10 Garhwal Rifles by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. A few days earlier, on 9 February, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) decided to enquire into “stone pelting and assault by an unruly and disruptive mob on army personnel” in response to a petition filed by children of serving armed forces officers and agreed that “the issue of safety of soldiers” deserves consideration. By raking up the human rights of armed soldiers in a conflict area where they also exercise the right to kill on mere suspicion, the denial of justice to civilian victims is being glossed over. With a stay on investigation, even recording of a complaint is now forbidden.