Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday granted government three weeks more for filling its response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), demanding it to make public the report submitted by the Justice Koul Commission of Inquiry into 2010 unrest.
A division bench of Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey granted the time as was sought by it. In fact, the government had sought four weeks more time to submit the report. The PIL has urged that the government may be asked to submit an action taken report with respect to the findings of the inquiry commission.
The one-man judicial panel appointed in 2014, which submitted its report to the J&K Government led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in January, has recommended a CBI investigation into the killing of teenager Tufail Matoo, whose death had triggered the street protests in 2010.
It reportedly has also suggested the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, an issue on which ruling alliance partners have decided to maintain status quo.
The inquiry commission, which was appointed by the then Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, to probe the 2010 unrest civilian killings, has also made several recommendations to redress the grievances of the victim families, kins of whom have either died or were injured during the (2010) unrest, says petitioner—NGO J&K Peoples Forum. It has also submitted that the state has so far neither made the report public nor disclosed as to what action it had taken or contemplated to be taken to mitigate the sufferings of the victims.
“The result is that the society at large carries an impression that the constitution of such commission is an exercise in futility,” reads the PIL, adding that the government be directed to make the commission report public and also disclose the “action taken report” with respect to the findings of the commission.