(UNI) Jammu and Kashmir High Court has said it is not inclined to entertain Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking reinvestigation in 1999-Kunanpora, Kupwara, mass rape case.
However, the court said, 'We trust and hope that the recommendations made by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) are seriously debated and a decision is taken by the High Level Committee expeditiously and preferably within four weeks from now.'
Delivering the decision, a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey said on account of pendency of statutory process for implementation of recommendations made by SHRC and also pendency of the proceedings before the Kupwara Magistrate, it is not inclined to entertain the PIL on mass rape incident at village Kunanposhpora in the frontier district of Kupwara at this stage.
The bench had reserved the decision last week on the PIL filed by a Civil Society Group seeking re-investigation into the incident.
The court said the Kupwara Magistrate would also do well by deciding the issue pending before him expeditiously.
The Court said a high level committee was seized of the matter to take decision on the SHRC recommendations on compensation to the victims.
The court has now closed the PIL leaving it open to the petitioners to approach the High Court as and when any final decision in the matter is taken.
'We wish to clarify that in the present order, we have not decided about the locus-standi of the petitioners nor the objections concerning the maintainability of the PIL,' the court said.
The petitioners' counsel, Parvez Imroz, had argued that the contents of SHRC decision cannot be ignored, saying it substantiates a pre-existing position on the occurrence of a mass rape and lack of fair investigations.
He pleaded that the mass rape case has never been fairly investigated.
Advocate General, M I Qadri said the PIL was not maintainable and submitted that only the SHRC under Section 19 of its Act has the authority to file the Writ Petition before the Court.
'We have already submitted a number of witnesses and the case is fixed for hearing on May 24,' he informed the court.
Kunanposhpora had witnessed one the worst incidents of mass rape during the intervening night of February 23/24 in 1991, allegedly by soldiers of 4-Rajputana Rifles of 68 Brigade.
On October 19, 2011, a division bench of SHRC had asked the government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for re-opening the case and had also recommended to prosecute the then Director Prosecution who had sought closure of the case on the grounds that the perpetrators were untraced. UNI
