Kupwara, Apr 24, KDC: A court in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district has discharged a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) while ordering trial against seven other police personnel in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into an alleged custodial torture case.
The order was passed by the Court of Principal District and Sessions Judge, Kupwara, presided over by Manjeet Singh Manhas, while considering the question of charge or discharge in FIR No. RC-048202550008 registered by the CBI.
The FIR was registered in 2025 on the directions of the Supreme Court, following allegations that a police constable, Khursheed Ahmed Chowhan, was illegally detained and subjected to custodial torture at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) Kupwara in February 2023. The CBI had chargesheeted eight police personnel under various provisions of the IPC, including criminal conspiracy, wrongful confinement, and causing hurt to extract confession..
After examining the material on record, the court held that no prima facie case was made out against accused Aijaz Ahmad Naik, a DySP, observing that “there is not even an iota of whisper in the evidence… that A-1 (Aijaz Ahmad Naik) physically participated in the alleged acts.”
The court further noted that the material against the officer was limited and did not meet the threshold required to proceed to trial. “The suspicion arising against him does not attain the threshold of grave suspicion, and there is no prima facie material indicating his participation, direct or indirect,” the court said, while discharging him.
However, the court in a 19 pages order, a copy of which is in the possession of news agency Kashmir Dot Com, found sufficient grounds to proceed against the remaining accused, holding that the material on record disclosed “active and continued involvement” of the officials in the alleged acts.
The court ordered framing of charges against seven accused police personnel, including Sub-Inspector Riyaz Ahmad Mir, Special Police Officer (SPO) Jahangeer Ahmad Beigh, Head Constable Mohd. Younis Khan, Selection Grade Constable Shakir Hussain Khoja, Head Constable Tanveer Ahmad Malla, Selection Grade Constable Altaf Hussain Bhat, and Constable Shahnawaz Ahmad Deedad, for their alleged involvement in the custodial torture case.
The court observed that the allegations relate to a custodial setting, which carries “distinct legal and evidentiary implications,” adding that injuries sustained during custody “assume heightened significance.”
Referring to medical and other evidence, the court said the material “prima facie indicates” that the victim sustained injuries consistent with custodial violence and that such injuries “cannot be treated as a neutral circumstance.”
Rejecting the defence plea for discharge of the remaining accused, the court said the prosecution material, including the victim’s statement and medical evidence, forms a “structured and consistent narrative” with specific role attribution.
“The material on record, taken at its face value, discloses sufficient grounds for presuming that they have committed offences,” the court observed, adding that the allegations point to acts committed “in furtherance of a common design.”
The court clarified that at the stage of framing charges, it is not required to conduct a “mini-trial” but only to ascertain whether the material raises “grave suspicion” against the accused.
Accordingly, the court directed that charges be framed against the seven accused under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 120-B, 323, 325, 330, 331 and 343 IPC.
The matter has now been listed for further proceedings, with the accused to be produced before the court for framing of charges and continuation of trial. (KDC)
