SC shocked over lawyers’ body questioning J&K’s accession to India

New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed "shock" over J&K High Court Bar Association questioning the accession of the northern state to India and the role of security forces.

Also, every election held in the state in the past were rigged and security forces were resorting to the policy of catch and kill, alleged the Srinagar-based Jammu and Kashmir HCBA in its affidavit which was read in the court by Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.

"We are shocked," the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said over the contents of the affidavit.

The bench was hearing a petition on use of pellets in Kashmir by the security forces.

In the wake of the affidavit, the Solicitor General sought the junking of the plea by the lawyers' body as "not maintainable".

"All that they are saying now is not part of their petition," Kumar told the court.

At this, the bench asked the President of the Association, Mian Abdul Qayoom, how all that they have said in their affidavit was relevant to their plea seeking a halt to the use of pellet guns to quell the stone pelting by protestors.

Qayoom told the court that the references questioning Kashmir's accession to India and other things were to give perspective in response to a poser by the top court asking what HCBA was doing and why people are agitating.

At this, Chief Justice Misra said that it was a mistake on the part of the Supreme Court to ask why people are protesting on streets in the Kashmir Valley.

On April 10, the top court had in the course of the hearing of the matter asked why young boys in the age group of 13 to 20 years were part of the protesting crowds.

"What are children doing in these crowds and why are they placed in the front of the protesting mobs and why there is not one person of 40 or 50 years of age in these protesting crowds," the bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar (since retired), Justice Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had asked.

The affidavit under question was filed before the April 28 hearing of the matter when the then Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, too, had flagged HCBA doubting the accession of J&K to India and security forces resorting to the policy of catch and kill.

The top court is hearing a plea by the J&K HCBA challenging the state high court's order which said that it was entirely for the security agencies to decide what kind of force was needed to be used in a given situation.

The court on Wednesday said it would hold hearing on prayers seeking a halt to the use of pellet guns and prosecution of those responsible for excessive use of force, if any.

The matter will be taken up for hearing on January 18 next year.