MONDAY, JULY 17, 2017 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU daily Excelsior Established 1965 Implications of SHRC order Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra Gautam Sen polling personnel and some vot- Chairman of JKSHRC and the way, on the spur of the moment and the Army is duly empow- allowed himself to be used as an ers inside and security forces in august institution he heads, when the situation was fast dete- ered under the Armed Forces instrument and an accomplice ammu & Kashmir State the immediate periphery. A col- reckoned the fallout of the rul- riorating and about to spin out of Special Powers Act which oper- towards causing public unrest. Funds not utilized Human Rights Comm- umn of RR had responded to the ing, on the political and the control and involve further may- ates with the consent of State There is therefore enough raison Jission (JKSHRC) has in a local police`s call for help, human rights scenario of the hem. Loss of lives and individ- Government only, for a range of d`etre for the State Government ruling on 10th July this year, under the leadership of Major state in its totality. ual and public property was action in its security duties to move the Jammu & Kashmir everal departments have failed to utilize funds awarded a compensation of Rs. Leetul Gogoi, had observed Dar, The answer to the first point avoided owing to Dar being which are beyond the pale of High Court for initially obtain- sanctioned to them for the financial year 2016-17 ten lakh to Farooq Ahmed Dar a local Kashmiri, inciting the may be viewed in the affirma- made a shield against the further judicial review. ing an injunction in execution of and directed the Jammu & Sunder Prime Minister’s Development Package. local mob to pelt stones and tive. Jurisdictionally, the assaults by the mob on the secu- The State Government will the JKSHRC order and subse- Kashmir Government to comply We know our State does not have a strong econo- burn down the booth with peo- JKSHRC has acted within its rity forces. Justice Nazki and the be justified if it takes a stand quently its modification of the within six weeks. The compen- my and most of the developmental schemes are ple inside. terms of reference and legal JKSHRC had instead, taken a contesting the JKSHRC ruling JKSHRC order of 10th July, sation is in response to petition The image of the Dar being authority. This view is substanti- high moral ground referring to reckoning that, Dar was not tor- 2017. Those who goaded Dar to dependent on the financial support received from the filed by Mohammed Ahsan moved around seated and tied to ated when justaposed with its the eminent Indian Supreme tured in the strict sense, nor hurt incite the local marauders, the Union Government. Despite this, when funds are made Antoo, Chairman, International the bonnet of the RR jeep had decision not to impose any Court Judge, V. R. Krishna Iyer while being moved around tied circumstances of his action and available, the State Departments are unable to utilize Forum for Justice & Protection gone viral in social and electron- penalty on Major Gogoi as by citing one of his judicial pro- and seated on the jeep`s bonnet. the proportionality of Major of Human Rights against the 9th them optimally. What are the reasons for this contra- ic media. The incident had demanded by the petitioner. This The resultant acute stress disor- Gogoi`s action could then be April, 2017 incident when, nouncements wherein, the latter dicting phenomenon? What is more surprising is that drawn criticism from various is borne out by the JKSHRC der of Dar which is mentioned delved into within a realistic Farooq Ahmed Dar, a resident of had opined that ``zoological cul- quarters, human rights groups, order which mentions on the in the Srinagar Medical College political framework. the departments that have failed to utilize the funds in Chill Khansahib in Beerwah ture cannot be compatible with limited applicability of the & Hospital, report and cited in In the circumstances prevail- full are also the departments that are earmarked for police station`s jurisdiction in civic society in the Valley. A for- reverence for life, even of a ter- Jammu & Kashmir Protection of the JKSHRC order, was trig- ing in Jammu & Kashmir today, lowest performance. Two of these are the R&B and Budgam district, was tied to an mer Northern Army rible criminal``. Commander, retired Lt. General, Human Rights Act-1997, which The Union Information & gered by his actions only. There it may not be inappropriate to School Education Department. Both of these depart- Army jeep`s bonnet and driven was no direct threat to life and recall the famous British mis- around by a unit of Army-affili- H.S.Panag has tersely observed governs the functioning of the Broadcasting Minister has how- ments are directly connected to public service meaning that the image of the incident JKSHRC to areas not covered ever, gone on record strongly limb of either Dar or the protes- sionary, Tindale Biscoe, who that these are involved in providing service to the pub- ated Rashtriya Rifles (RR) to act tors, from Major Gogoi and his came to Kashmir at end of the as a deterrent for stone pelters will haunt the Army for a long under Lists I and III of India`s criticising the JKSHRC ruling. lic directly. time to come. The incumbent Constitution and its consequent He has his reasons for taking RR unit. nineteenth century. Biscoe had violently protesting against observed in his epic work About roads, in Jammu province, the R&B Army Chief have however, handicap in examining the con- such a stand when, the Central The JKSHRC had ratio- holding of the bi-elections to nalised its order for compensa- `Kashmir in Sunshine and Department was released Rs 20000 lakh but it utilized Srinagar Lok Sabha constituen- commended Major Gogoi for duct of the Army. security forces and the Army are However, the JKSHRC at the receiving end of unmiti- tion to Dar by mentioning the Shade` that, ``Kashmir has been Rs 16358 lakh thereby leaving Rs 3641.71 lakh as cy on 9th April, 2017. his so-called innovative way of conquered and reconquered by seems to have totally de-linked gated violence being perpetrated `public humiliation, physical The context of the RR unit`s combating the unrest and saving invaders, who have murdered, unspent. However, in Kashmir province the R&B its decision to the causes and by the separatists` backed street and psychological torture, action was widespread opposi- lives, notwithstanding that a oppressed and enslaved their Department utilized Rs 19545.82 lakh against release protestors and the militant-infil- stress, wrongful restraint and tion and civic unrest against the court of inquiry was constituted circumstances leading to the ancestors, and so ground the life of Rs 20000 lakh thereby leaving only Rs 454.18 lakh by the Army with tacit consent incident. These have not been trated mobs in the Valley. confinement` suffered by him. bi-election in Srinagar in the The JKSHRC has overlooked and heart out of them that their as unspent Anybody who happens to move across of higher defence authorities accorded due weightage or Nonetheless, it may be appro- backdrop of continuing distur- the nexus between the genesis of better selves have been apropos the sensitivity of the deemed mitigating factors priate for the Central authorities some of the crowded areas of Jammu city will find that bances post-killing of Burhan the circumstances leading to the crushed.`` A new incarnation of matter. against the RR officer`s action. to let the State Government deal the roads are in very bad condition and not really Wani-a Hizbul Mujahiddin mili- unique restraint imposed on Dar invaders from within and with- The point at issue is whether, Major Gogoi had candidly nar- with the implications of the motorable. The condition of roads in various parts of tant last year. There was riotous and consequent reduction in vio- out seems to be trying to crush the JKSHRC has acted true to its rated in the public domain the JKSHRC order. This will be the Kashmir`s spirit from within. Jammu region particularly in district headquarters and situation created by marauding lence in the affected zone and legal ambit and spirit of its circumstances of his action, as politically and legally prudent (The author is a retired IDAS officer mobs who had surrounded a obviating deaths or maiming of rural areas is worse. The quality of material used for statutory jurisdiction. Another an outcome of his individual considering that the State con- who has served in senior positions in polling station and was about to individuals on the scene. Prima black topping is of low quality and can hardly bear one pertinent factor is whether, spot decision and not driven tinues to have constitutional Government of India) burn down the booth when facie, it appears that Dar monsoon season. Leave aside the rural and district polling was in progress with Justice (retired) Bilal Nazki, institutionally in a premeditated responsibility for law and order [email protected] areas even in the city of Jammu and within the munic- ipal areas of the town, the condition of most of the Dr Bharat Jhunjhunwala roadblocks. Thus the cost of the roads is deplorable. Though in the region of Kashmir land for the Indian businessman emand is being raised China and the rot within India becomes Rs 15 lakhs. The not a big amount remains unutilized on roads yet what- that Indians should boy- Chinese bureaucracy takes cott Chinese products.