THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, May 1: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives, rebuking the petitioners for filing what it termed an inappropriate plea.
A bench led by Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh declined to entertain the request and questioned the rationale behind asking retired judges to conduct terrorism-related investigations. “Since when do retired High Court or Supreme Court judges become experts in terrorism cases?” the bench remarked. “Be responsible. You owe some duty to the country.”
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The court was hearing arguments from one of the petitioners appearing in person when Justice Surya Kant interjected, expressing concern that such pleas could demoralize the country in a time of crisis. “This is a crucial hour when every citizen is united against terrorism. Please be sensitive,” he observed.
Following the strong observations from the bench, the petitioner chose to withdraw the petition and sought liberty to raise the matter of protecting Kashmiri students studying outside the region before the High Court instead.
While granting the withdrawal, the bench clarified that the petitioners are free to approach the appropriate High Court “if” any issue arises concerning the safety of students. However, the Court also pointed out that the PIL filed made no mention of student protection and primarily focused on seeking directions for safeguarding tourists in Kashmir.
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The PIL was filed by Mohammad Junaid from Kashmir, along with co-petitioners Fatesh Kumar Sahu and Vicky Kumar. The plea had urged the Central government and the Jammu & Kashmir administration to take steps to ensure tourist safety following the terror attack.
