Srinagar, July 23: A Sessions Court here upheld the trial court’s order directing Crime Branch (CB) Kashmir to register an FIR against policemen regarding the alleged ‘custodial death’ of a youth, Muslim Muneer here on July 9.
Dismissing a revision petition filed by Police against the order of City Magistrate Srinagar, the Court of 1st Additional Sessions Judge Srinagar, Ajay Kumar Gupta held as “not maintainable” the plea.
The City Magistrate Srinagar on July 15 directed, “SHO Police Station Crime Branch Kashmir to get an FIR registered in the case against the accused No 2 (Abdul Rashid) and other unknown Police officials of Police Station Nowgam under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and get the case investigated by an efficient Police officer to bring the culprits to the book.”
Aggrieved by this order, the Police filed the revision petition before the Principal Sessions Judge, Srinagar which was transferred to the 1st Additional Sessions Court for disposal under law.
On behalf of the Police, the APP while reiterating the grounds taken in the revision petition contended that in the present case the preliminary investigation and inquiry were being conducted by the Police and the inquest proceedings under Section 174 and 176 of CrPC were also being conducted. Despite this, he said, the trial court passed the order for registration of the FIR.
“Since the order has attained the finality, the revision petition is maintainable,” he contended.
Opposing the revision plea, Advocate Tasaduq Hussain Reshi on behalf of Muslim Muneer’s mother said that the revision does not lie against the order passed by the City Magistrate Srinagar for being “interlocutory”.
After hearing the parties, the court dismissed the revision plea.
“In my humble view the order passed by the City Magistrate Srinagar in the application filed under Section 156 (3) CrPC for registration of the FIR is an interlocutory order and the revision does not lie against the order,” Judge Gupta said. “The law laid down in the judgment passed by our own High Court of J&K and Ladakh, the present revision petition is not maintainable.”
The court said that the judgments referred by the APP were not supporting the case of the revisionist.
In her plea before the City Magistrate, the mother of the 25-year-old deceased had submitted, “There were visible marks of violence and torture seen on the body of my deceased son which makes it clear that he was brutally murdered in the Police custody.”