J&K govt making all efforts to protect religious minorities: HC disposes of PIL by Kashmiri Pandits
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has refused to entertain petition seeking protection of religious minorities like Hindus in J&K from targeted killîngs.
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New Delhi, July 26: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh said that it was “common knowledge that the administration was making all efforts to provide security and protection to the religious minorities in J&K and a robust mechanism was being deployed to avoid targeted killings and to investigate it”.
The High Court disposed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti (KPSS), which had sought the court’s intervention to protect the lives of the religious minorities in J&K. This came after targeted killings are taking place. A division bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani left it to the government to consider the issues raised in consultation with the Samiti.
“We do not want to enter into the merits of the issues which have been raised by the petitioner Samiti in the representation to this court and rather consider it appropriate to leave those issues to be considered, negotiated, and resolved at the level of the government in consultation with the representatives of the petitioner Samiti,” the bench said. The court said this following its perusal of a “note” of J&K’s Special DG, CID, which was produced before it by Advocate General D C Raina in a sealed cover “to contend that all possible care is taken to address all the issues”.
Accordingly, the court left it open for the Samiti to submit a fresh representation highlighting its grievances before J&K’s Secretary Home in a comprehensive manner. “Once such a memorandum and representation is submitted, Secretary Home will sit with the President of the Samiti or any other nominee of the Samiti so authorised and consider the grievances of the petitioner,” the court said.
After receiving the suggestions, if necessary, (the government), the court said, may take appropriate remedial steps that might be considered necessary in the overall interest of J&K and the members of the minority community as claimed.