SC to hear plea to quash FIR against Army on Monday
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the plea filed by the father of Major Aditya Kumar, named in an FIR by Jammu and Kashmir Police in civilian killings during a firing incident, for quashing the case because it will hurt the Army's morale in fighting terrorism in the state.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra posted the matter for hearing on February 12, after petitioner's advocate Aishwarya Bhati sought urgent hearing of the case.
Major Kumar and other soldiers of 10 Garhwal Rifles have been accused of opening fire and fatally injuring three civilians when a stone-pelting mob attacked an army convoy near Ganowpora village in Shopian district on January 27.
The FIR would hurt the morale of Army personnel in discharging the duty, Lt Col Karamveer Singh said in his plea filed on Thursday through advocate Aishwarya Bhati.
"The manner in which the lodging of the FIR has been portrayed and projected by the political leadership and administrative higher-ups of the state, reflects the extremely hostile atmosphere in the state.
It said that Major Kumar was wrongly and arbitrarily named as the incident relates to an Army convoy on bonafide military duty in an area under the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Acts), which was isolated by an "unruly and deranged" stone-pelting mob.
The intention of the Major was to save Army personnel and property, and the fire was inflicted only to impair and provide a safe escape.
"The unruly mob was requested to disperse and not to obstruct military persons in the performance of their duties and not to damage government property...
"The unruly behavior of the unlawful assembly reached its peak when they got hold of a Junior Commissioned Officer and was in the process of lynching him to death. It was at this moment that warning shots were fired... which as per the said terms of engagement is the last resort to be taken...," the plea said.
It also sought directions to issue guidelines to protect rights of soldiers and adequate compensation.
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CBI Director Praveen Sood gets one year's extension
New Delhi, May 7 (PTI): The Centre on Wednesday extended the tenure of CBI Director Praveen Sood by one year.
Sood took over as the CBI director on May 25, 2023 for a two-year term.
The decision to extend his tenure was taken in a meeting of the selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday, officials said.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), based on the recommendations of the selection committee, approved Sood's extension for a period of one year beyond May 24.
Sood is a 1986-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Karnataka cadre. He was working as Karnataka's director general of police (DGP) when he was named as the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Born in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district in 1964, Sood joined the IPS at the age of 22 years after completing his civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
He also holds a post-graduation degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru and the Maxwell School of Governance, Syracuse University in New York.
Sood, known for his hands-on approach, had supervised investigation of high profile cases involving high net-worth individuals and matters having inter-state and international ramifications.
The tech-savvy officer had worked for the strengthening of the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) and the ICJS (Interoperable Criminal Justice System) in Karnataka along with the judiciary.
