SC to take up on November 22 curative petition seeking probe into ‘genocide’ of Kashmiri Pandits

Citing re-opening of anti-Sikh riots after 35 years, petitioner contended that no limitation period was applicable in crimes against humanity and in cases of genocide and ethnic cleansing

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Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, November 20

The Supreme Court will take up on November 22 a curative petition seeking a probe by CBI/NIA or any other court-appointed agency into the alleged mass murders and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir during 1989-90.

The petition filed by ‘Roots in Kashmir’ in March this year is listed before a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and S Abdul Nazeer.

The main petition and the review petition seeking re-opening of the cases were dismissed in 2017 for a 27 years delay.

Citing the re-opening of anti-Sikh riots after 35 years, the petitioner contended that no limitation period was applicable in crimes against humanity and in cases of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The petition questioned the court’s 2017 order dismissing apetitionfor a probe into alleged ethnic clinging of Kashmiri Pandits.

The curative petition alleged that the J&K Police miserably failed to make any progress in hundreds of FIRs pending with them.

Curativepetitions—a judicially devised mechanism—are considered to be the last hope for a litigant to get justice. Generally, a curative petition is not taken up in open court and are heard by circulation among the members of the Bench. However, in exceptional cases, the top court can grant an open court hearing.

“The instances referred in thepetitionpertain to the year 1989-90, and more than 27 years have passed by since then. No fruitful purpose would emerge, as the evidence is unlikely to be available at this late juncture,” the top court had said in its April 27, 2017 order.

Thecurativepetitioncited a 2018 Delhi order in a case relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots against former Delhi Congress leader Sajjan Kumar in which it had said: “It’s important to assure those countless victims waiting patiently that despite the challenges, truth will prevail and justice will be done...” Kumar – who was convicted in the case is currently serving a life term in Tihar Jail.

The petitioners demanded an “independent Committee or Commission to investigate into the mass murders and genocide of Kashmiri Pandits during 1989-90 and subsequent years, and also to investigate the reasons for non-prosecution of FIRs of murders of Kashmiri Pandits…”

They also sought a court-monitored probe to ensure that the hundreds of FIRs reached their logical conclusion without any further delay.

Thepetitiondemanded transfer of all such FIRs pertaining to murders of Kashmiri Pandits, from J&K to some other state, preferably Delhi, so that the witnesses, reluctant to approach police or courts in view of their safety concerns, can freely and fearlessly depose before probe agencies and courts.

On September 2, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a PIL seeking direction to the government to rehabilitate/resettle Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs, including those who migrated since 1990 from Kashmir to any other part of India due to terrorism.However, it had given liberty to the petitioner NGO to approach the Central government and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the grievances.

On September 19 this year, the top court had refused to entertain a petition seeking a probe into the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit in 1989, saying the petitioner can move the high court for relief.Petitioner Ashutosh Taploo, whose father Tika Lal Taploo was killed by JKLF militants in 1989, wanted the top court to order a probe into it.

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