[Nadimarg Massacre] J&K&L High Court directs Trial court to ensure expeditious proceedings

With regard to the brutal killing of 24 Kashmiri Pandits at Village Nadimarg in the year 2003, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High court has directed for resumption of trial in the matter and has also asked the trial court to "ensure expeditious proceedings so as to conclude the matter at the earliest".

The Nadimarg Massacre, wherein persons belonging to the minority community were assassinated, resulted in mass migration of the remaining people of the minority community from the said village and were reported to be living at Purkhoo Camp, Muthi Camp and Mishriwala Jammu.

Today, a single judge bench of Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul allowed the revision petition filed by J&K Police and set aside the order passed by the court below, whereby the J&K Police's application for recording the statement of witnesses on commission had been dismissed and the evidence of the prosecution had been closed.

High Court was informed that while police filed a challan before the trial court at Pulwama wherefrom the case was committed to the court of Sessions at Pulwama and as many as 38 witnesses were cited, the prosecution was able to have got recorded depositions of only 13 witnesses.

J&K Police further submitted before Court that the court below had not appreciated the ultimate goal of the criminal trial, which is not only to comply the procedural requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure but also to find out the truth and subject all the concerned to the process of law.

The basic purpose of the criminal justice administration system is defeated if the true facts are not revealed before the court and dismissal of the application of the prosecution has caused miscarriage of justice, Justice Koul was further told.

Relying on State of Maharashtra vs. Dr. Praful B. Desai, wherein the Supreme Court held that recording of evidence by way of video-conferencing is permissible, the High Court opined that the case before it could also be dealt with on the same lines.

"It has been rightly stated by counsel for the petitioner that the court below has not appreciated the difficulty of the prosecution in procuring the presence of the witnesses and that endeavour of the court below in a case of heinous nature like one on hand should be to examine all the witnesses on commission so as to unveil the truth", the High Court held.

Thus, while observing that the court below dismissed the application of the prosecution-State for examining the witness on commission on irrelevant consideration while overlooking the material and relevant aspects of the case, the court below has been asked to take all the necessary measures for ensuring the examination of the witnesses by issuing commission and/or recording their statement through video-conferencing.

Case Title: State of J&K through police station Zainapora vs. Zia Mustafa and others