Supreme Court to J&K: No coercive steps to be taken against Major Kumar

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed that no coercive steps be taken for now against Major Aditya Kumar in connection with an FIR lodged against him by Jammu & Kashmir Police for a January 27 incident in Shopian which Army personnel opened fire at an agitating crowd killing three civilians.

The FIR filed by the Mehbooba Mufti government has invoked charges of murder and attempt to murder against Major Kumar, prompting outrage in the Armed Forces who claimed they fired in self-defence when a violent mob caught hold of an officer and tried to lynch him. Major Kumar’s father Lt Col Karamveer Singh later moved the top court seeking quashing of the FIR.

Among other things, he claimed the area was under the stringent Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFPSA) and the army was carrying out bona fide duties under orders.


Soldiers are protected for any bona fide act undertaken in exercise of their duties under AFPSA, though the Supreme Court has hemmed in their discretion by insisting that only proportionate force be used.

Lt Col Singh’s petition claimed the army personnel opened fire after repeated warnings to let go of the officer went unheeded. In this context, he reminded the court of the “brutal”, “senseless” lynching of Jammu & Kashmir DSP Mohd Ayub Pandith on June 23, 2107, as a “sad but true reminder of the nature of the uncontrolled mob in these areas”.

Major Kumar’s father also claimed his son was not even at the spot when the incident took place. Appearing for the father in court today, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the incident related to an “ongoing operation”.

“There can’t be a situation where the Army is facing an FIR,” he told a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. Justice Misra, who was sitting alongside Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, immediately restrained the state government from taking any coercive steps against the Army major.

Instead, the top court sought the views of the central government and the attorney general on the issue. Major Kumar is also facing the charge of endangering the life and personal security of people.

The court also issued notices to the Jammu & Kashmir government, through standing counsel Shoeb Alam, asking it to file its formal legal stand on the father’s plea to quash the FIR within two weeks.