The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed a trial court order that directed the registration of a fresh FIR and the replacement of the head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in a 1996 killing case. Justice Sanjay Dhar delivered the ruling in response to an appeal filed by the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, asserting that there was no necessity for a new FIR, as FIR No. 88/1996 was already registered at Police Station Khanyar.
The background of the case dates back to June 1, 1996, when Police Station Khanyar received information regarding terrorists hiding with illegal arms in Miskeenbagh Khanyar. Following the operation, two terrorists, Mehraj-du-din and Mohammad Ramzan Bhat, associated with Hizbul Mujahideen, were killed or injured. The other terrorists escaped. FIR No. 88/1996 was subsequently registered, but the investigation was initially closed as “untraced.” However, in 2006, the case was reopened upon observations from the Zonal Police Headquarters in Srinagar, leading to an investigation by an SIT.
On April 1, 2021, Jameela Bano, the wife of deceased Mohammad Ramzan Bhat, filed a protest petition before the Judicial Magistrate. This led to an order on October 28, 2021, directing the SSP Srinagar to form an SIT headed by an officer of at least the rank of DySP to investigate the case and examine the actions of previous investigating officers.
As the investigation progressed, Bano expressed concern over its pace, prompting the Magistrate to seek status updates. On December 2, 2021, the Magistrate noted uncertainty regarding whether any identified individuals had been arrested or if a fresh FIR had been filed against them.
Justice Dhar remarked that while the state was indeed obligated to register an FIR based on Bano’s account, the Magistrate had opted to treat her petition as a private complaint and proceeded under Chapter XVI of the J&K CrPC, rather than directing a new FIR under Chapter XIV.
The court ruled that there were no grounds to support the Magistrate’s direction to substitute the head of the SIT but acknowledged the persistent struggle of the protest petitioner for nearly three decades without an investigation into her account.
Ultimately, the High Court disposed of the petition, set aside the order for a new FIR, and mandated that the Union Territory replace the head of the SIT with an officer of impeccable integrity, at least of the rank of Superintendent of Police, to expedite the investigation and report back to the Magistrate within two months.
