Arrest Avtar and impound passport,said HC; for years govt did nothing

Justice Bilal Nazki of Jammu and Kashmir High Court had,along with Justice R C Gandhi,issued orders on April 10,1997,to arrest Major Singh,impound his passport and exhibit his pictures in the electronic and print media after they heard a petition filed by the High Court Bar Association in Srinagar.

However,the government took no action against Singh — who was then posted with the Territorial Army in Ludhiana — and several others indicted for Andrabi’s killing in an investigation carried out by a special investigation team of the J&K Police set up by the court.

“ Besides (providing) justice to his (Singh’s) victims in Kashmir,we would have avoided the loss of more innocent lives that he took when he killed his family in the United States (on Saturday),” Justice Nazki,who retired as Chief Justice of Orissa High Court in November 2009,told The Indian Express.

“ While I was hearing the case we set up a special investigation team of the J&K Police to probe the murder. The investigation was led by an efficient IPS officer from Bihar,I K Mishra,who was then the senior superintendent of police in Srinagar. I was personally convinced that the best investigation was done by the SIT,” Justice Nazki said.

The Army,the retired judge said,did not co-operate with the investigation. “In fact,the Army wasn’t even letting the officer (Mishra) and his investigators come inside the camp,and he complained to the court,so we had to pass an order that he be allowed in,” Justice Nazki said.

“ Then the police tried to remove him (Mishra) and replace him with a local officer,Mohammad Amin,as head of the SIT. We disallowed that. (Then) IG (PPS) Gill was in fact convicted for contempt for this.”

Andrabi’s wife approached the police soon after he was arrested by the Army,but the police did not register a case. A day later,on March 9,1996,the High Court Bar Association filed a petition before the high court,which ordered on the same day that Andrabi be released.

The Army,however,told the court that Andrabi was not in their custody. On March 18,1996,a division bench of Justices Nazki and Gandhi,unsatisfied with the investigation,ordered the setting up of the SIT. The case took a serious turn after Andrabi’s body was found in a weighted burlap bag in the Jhelum. His hands were tied behind him with rope,and his body was full of severe torture marks.

On April 10,1996,the bench asked the Army to produce the personal file of Major Avtar Singh who,the Army was claiming,was no longer on its rolls. The court directed SSP Mishra to “take all possible steps under law to apprehend Maj. Avtar Singh”,and asked “officers of Union of India wherever they are posted in the country… to render all possible assistance to Mr Mishra”.

The court also ordered that “the concerned authorities of Union of India shall make photograph of Maj. Avtar Singh available to Mr Mishra”. If he (Mishra) thinks that it will be in the interest of the investigation that such photograph be exhibited on DD and newspapers,he may do so at the cost of the state.”

Also,“the concerned authorities… are further directed that they shall not issue a passport to Maj. Avtar Singh till further orders from this court and in case he is already in possession of passport,that shall be impounded.”

Justice Nazki said there was no reason why Singh should have not faced trial. “Singh’s case symbolizes what is wrong with New Delhi’s approach to Kashmir,” he said.

Justice Nazki recalled that soon after passing those orders in 1997,he was transferred to Hyderabad. “The high court didn’t take any interest (in the case) afterwards.”

The Army had initially denied Andrabi’s arrest. It later told the court that Singh was not employed by it any longer,and that he had not committed the offence “in his official capacity”.

In March 2001,The Indian Express had reached Maj. Singh in Ludhiana,where he was with the Territorial Army then. Singh had declined to comment on the case. He subsequently left the country.

On October,5,2009,a red-corner notice was issued for Andrabi. Lawyer Habibullah Mir,who is pursuing the case in the trial court,alleged that he had been approached by Army officials for a settlement. “The officers said that they were ready to help the family get compensation,but the family declined,saying they wanted justice,” Mir told The Indian Express.

On April 4,2011,a file for Singh’s extradition was submitted to the Ministry of External Affairs,which,however,returned it because its contents were in Urdu. On May 19,Chief Judicial Magistrate,Srinagar,Rajiv Gupta directed the J&K Police to furnish English translations of the chargesheet and other documents within a week.