Srinagar, Dec 14: The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the union government to submit the report prepared by an Expert Committee regarding the use of pellet guns by Armed Forces, reports said.
In a petition filed by Jammu & Kashmir High Court Advocates Association, a Bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud asked the union government to file the report prepared by the ‘expert committee’ constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The petition is an appeal against a decision of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, which had dismissed the case. The High Court, while dismissing the matter, stated:
“Having regard to the ground situation prevailing as of now and the fact that Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs has already constituted a Committee of Experts through its Memorandum dated July 26, 2016 for exploring other alternative to pellet guns…
…Before filing of the report by the Expert Committee and a decision taken at the government level, we are not inclined to prohibit the use of pellet guns in rare and extreme situations.”
The petitioner Association has challenged this order contending that the High Court should have kept the matter pending till the Expert Committee submitted its report and should have then examined the matter after calling for the report.
The Bench today asked the Centre to file the report and posted the matter for hearing in the last week of January.
