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Right to life not protected in IHK
* Study says Indian judiciary has not punished violators
* Indicates central govt condoning actions of security forces
By Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: A comprehensive study has found that the Indian judiciary known for its fairness and integrity has failed to protect the right to life in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK).
The remedy of habeas corpus is a complete failure in Kashmir. It (the judiciary) did not protect the right to life, nor did it punish those who violated it, said the study published by Kathmandu-based South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) and to be released in Srinagar on Saturday. Authored by noted Indian Supreme Court lawyer Ashok Agarwal, the 200-page report said the judiciary in Kashmir had merely perpetrated and perpetuated the myth of justice and the myth of functioning, particularly in cases of custodial deaths and missing persons.
In over 57 percent cases where the role of security forces or a particular unit was established, the judiciary failed to do anything except to order the registration of first information reports (FIR). In the remaining 43 percent cases, the judiciary did not even order the registration of FIRs. To compound the absurdity, in 10 cases, the order to register an FIR took between five to 12 years. Even in cases of judicial investigations where the identity of a particular unit was established, the judiciary did not succeed in bringing criminals to book. Over the years, the Kashmir High Court has been displaying less and less enthusiasm for playing out, or prolonging the cases, according to the study. On the other hand, the security forces have displayed an increasing mastery of the process of justice.
Severely criticising the working of the judiciary, the report said the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had not displayed significant control over its own establishment, so mush so that the staff of the court has no fear of consequences for culpably slack and careless work. Documenting over 200 cases of disappearances in which arrests were recorded by security forces, the report said petitions had been gathering dust in the corridors of the judiciary since as early as 1990. The report said that the de jure abrogation of the right to life in Kashmir was rooted in the Armed (Jammu and Kashmir) Forces Special Powers Act 1990 (AFSPA). It lamented that the notion of dispensation of justice was deeply polluted by concepts of national security, integrity and sovereignty. It said the primary role of law in Kashmir seemed to be legitimising forces actions and creating an aura of fair play and even-handedness occasionally.
The report also said the single most striking feature of the habeas corpus proceedings was the powerlessness of the high court. From the point of time when the court serves notices related to the petition on respondents, it has lost all control over the proceedings. The pace, the manner in which the case would proceed, and the outcome of the case is controlled entirely by the respondents; the centre and the state governments, it said.
In almost 62 cases where inquiries were ordered by the high court, the accused unit did not participate in the inquiry proceedings. Even in some cases where the inquiry judge recorded adverse remarks against the conduct of an accused unit, security forces did not produce records on the deployment of their troops, or those pertaining to crackdowns. In two other cases where high court did involve itself in monitoring and to some extent supervised investigations, the central government rejected authorisation to prosecute officers.
Over the last 20 years since militancy erupted in IHK and troops moved in, New Delhi has granted sanction to prosecute in just two of the hundreds of cases in which sanction was sought. The report concludes by saying that there was much that ailed the commitment of the Indian judicial system in Kashmir to uphold the right to life and the rule of law. The report further calls for developing the necessary political resolve to rid India of this lawless impunity.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
* Study says Indian judiciary has not punished violators
* Indicates central govt condoning actions of security forces
By Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: A comprehensive study has found that the Indian judiciary known for its fairness and integrity has failed to protect the right to life in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK).
The remedy of habeas corpus is a complete failure in Kashmir. It (the judiciary) did not protect the right to life, nor did it punish those who violated it, said the study published by Kathmandu-based South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) and to be released in Srinagar on Saturday. Authored by noted Indian Supreme Court lawyer Ashok Agarwal, the 200-page report said the judiciary in Kashmir had merely perpetrated and perpetuated the myth of justice and the myth of functioning, particularly in cases of custodial deaths and missing persons.
In over 57 percent cases where the role of security forces or a particular unit was established, the judiciary failed to do anything except to order the registration of first information reports (FIR). In the remaining 43 percent cases, the judiciary did not even order the registration of FIRs. To compound the absurdity, in 10 cases, the order to register an FIR took between five to 12 years. Even in cases of judicial investigations where the identity of a particular unit was established, the judiciary did not succeed in bringing criminals to book. Over the years, the Kashmir High Court has been displaying less and less enthusiasm for playing out, or prolonging the cases, according to the study. On the other hand, the security forces have displayed an increasing mastery of the process of justice.
Severely criticising the working of the judiciary, the report said the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had not displayed significant control over its own establishment, so mush so that the staff of the court has no fear of consequences for culpably slack and careless work. Documenting over 200 cases of disappearances in which arrests were recorded by security forces, the report said petitions had been gathering dust in the corridors of the judiciary since as early as 1990. The report said that the de jure abrogation of the right to life in Kashmir was rooted in the Armed (Jammu and Kashmir) Forces Special Powers Act 1990 (AFSPA). It lamented that the notion of dispensation of justice was deeply polluted by concepts of national security, integrity and sovereignty. It said the primary role of law in Kashmir seemed to be legitimising forces actions and creating an aura of fair play and even-handedness occasionally.
The report also said the single most striking feature of the habeas corpus proceedings was the powerlessness of the high court. From the point of time when the court serves notices related to the petition on respondents, it has lost all control over the proceedings. The pace, the manner in which the case would proceed, and the outcome of the case is controlled entirely by the respondents; the centre and the state governments, it said.
In almost 62 cases where inquiries were ordered by the high court, the accused unit did not participate in the inquiry proceedings. Even in some cases where the inquiry judge recorded adverse remarks against the conduct of an accused unit, security forces did not produce records on the deployment of their troops, or those pertaining to crackdowns. In two other cases where high court did involve itself in monitoring and to some extent supervised investigations, the central government rejected authorisation to prosecute officers.
Over the last 20 years since militancy erupted in IHK and troops moved in, New Delhi has granted sanction to prosecute in just two of the hundreds of cases in which sanction was sought. The report concludes by saying that there was much that ailed the commitment of the Indian judicial system in Kashmir to uphold the right to life and the rule of law. The report further calls for developing the necessary political resolve to rid India of this lawless impunity.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
elhi Imam
