SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has dismissed a petition by six residents seeking to quash an FIR registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The court ordered the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Doda and the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Doda to supervise the ongoing investigation.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that Justice M A Chowdhary, in a judgment pronounced on August 12, 2026, ruled that the petition, filed by residents of Nacha, Ganotha Assar, Doda, was devoid of merit.
The case, filed under CRM(M) No. 836/2025, sought the quashing of FIR No. 0025/2025. This FIR was registered at Police Station Assar on August 11, 2025, under specific sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The petitioners, identified as Abdul Gani, Mohd Sharief, Mehboob, Yasir, Naseer Ahmed, and Safoora Begum, approached the High Court citing provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. Advocate N A Gatoo represented the petitioners, while Government Advocate Adarsh Bhagat appeared for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the SHO of Police Station Assar. The complainant, Mohd Ashraf, did not contest the proceedings.
The registration of the FIR stemmed from an incident on July 9, 2025, which the petitioners described as a “trivial altercation” involving three of them and the complainant’s family at a park in Ramgarh. According to the petitioners’ account, subsequent events led to an alleged assault at Abdul Gani’s shop in Bagger, Ramgarh, with injuries sustained and treated at PHC Assar. Following a complaint by Abdul Gani, FIR No. 0019/2025 was registered on July 9 against eight individuals under various sections of the BNSS and the Arms Act. Those accused later obtained bail from the District Judicial Mobile Magistrate (Traffic), Doda.
The petitioners contended that the second FIR, lodged approximately a month later, was a retaliatory measure intended to harass them and damage their reputation, arguing that the allegations did not prima facie constitute a cognisable offence under the SC/ST Act.
However, the police presented a contrasting account in their status report. The complainant alleged that on July 9, when children from his family visited a local shop, Abdul Gani and others allegedly used caste-based slurs. The report further stated that Mehboob allegedly attempted to attack children with a butcher’s knife. The complaint also detailed an incident where Asif Hussain Bakerwal was allegedly stripped, beaten, and abused due to his identity as a Bakerwal, and subsequently admitted to Government Medical College, Doda. Safoora Begum, a cook at Government Middle School Necha, was also accused of making caste-based remarks and barring Bakerwal community members from the school.
The investigation, initially entrusted to the Dy SP, DAR Doda, included visiting the alleged scene, preparing a site plan, and recording statements. While the investigating officer’s report noted corroboration from some eyewitnesses, it also stated that 17 independent witnesses did not support the complainant’s version. Notably, eight individuals whose signatures appeared on the written complaint claimed unawareness of its SC/ST Act-related allegations.
Opposing the petition, the Government Advocate argued that the matter involved disputed facts and serious allegations unsuitable for adjudication in the High Court’s extraordinary jurisdiction. He emphasized that the power to quash criminal proceedings should be exercised cautiously and that the case did not meet the exceptional criteria for such intervention. The investigation was ongoing, with statements from 15 witnesses yet to be recorded.
Justice Chowdhary observed that the complainant had approached the SSP Doda after the local police had already registered FIR No. 19/2025 against members of his family. The court expressed surprise that the investigation of FIR No. 0025/2025, registered on August 11, 2025, remained incomplete nearly a year later. The court indicated that the investigating officer might not have been impartial and directed the SSP Doda and CJM Doda to supervise the investigation to ensure it was conducted in accordance with the law. The court highlighted the protective intent of the SC/ST Act for vulnerable communities and rejected the argument that the delay in FIR registration justified quashing it, noting that the complainant had faced difficulties in lodging the initial complaint.
The court also found significance in the fact that the complainant and his relatives were accused in the earlier FIR, viewing this as support for the assertion that an occurrence had indeed taken place. A copy of the order was directed to be sent to the SSP and CJM Doda for compliance.
The Chenab Times News Desk