SC seeks ground report on Kashmir from Petitioner Bhim Singh

“You spend a week there. Report about the schools, hospitals, supply of essential commodities in Kashmir  valley and Srinagar. Don’t file a report sitting in Delhi. Somebody saying something on the basis of personal experience is very different”: CJI Thakur to J and K Panther Party chief Bhim Singh

The Supreme Court today pulled up Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh who has filed a petition seeking Governor’s rule in the strife torn state for not filing a proper response to the status report filed by the Centre and asked him to spend a week in Kashmir and submit a ground report about the state and the prevailing situation.

Centre has been asked to ensure safe stay of Singh and provide him hotline with the Deputy Commissioner of Police to assess the situation vis-à-vis functioning of schools, hospitals and supply of essential commodities

The Solicitor General had in a status report filed earlier in the court said  the number of violent protests which erupted after the killing of  Burhan Wani has gone down from 201 on July nine to 11 on August three. The Centre had told the Supreme Court  that the law and order situation in Kashmir Valley has “improved considerably”.

“You are talking politics through your response. This is not what we want. This is what happens when you sit in Delhi and write a report. You go to the valley spend some time there. Somebody saying something on the basis of personal experience is very different” Chief Justice T S Thakur told Singh

“The Supreme Court can do precious little to solve the law and order issues in Jammu and Kashmir and its best resolved through political dialogue of the kind happening between the Prime Minister and the Opposition parties, CJI had said earlier.

 “Situation is really bad. People continue to live in the shadow of the gun”, Singh repeatedly told the CJI.

Kumar, referring to the status report had said “curfew is in force only in certain areas of three districts in the Valley. However, due to persistent efforts of the security forces/Jammu and Kashmir Police, the situation has shown remarkable improvement, with the number of incidents declining progressively since the outbreak of violent protests and clashes. Compared to 201 incidents on July 9, 2016, only 11 incidents were witnessed as on August 3, 2016”, Kumar said, adding that a total of 872 incidents of violence were reported mainly from south Kashmir and parts of central and north Kashmir.

He said that in these 872 incidents, 42 civilians and two security personnel were killed, while 2656 civilians and 3783 security personnel were injured. Kumar said that 28 government establishments were set ablaze and 49 such establishments were damaged and due to the violent incidents initially curfew was imposed in 10 districts out of 22 districts of the state.