Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 16: High Court today deleted the name of a politician from a Public Interest Litigation on the grounds that he was serving political interest in the grab of public interest.
The HC deleted the name of independent legislator from Langate Engineer Abdul Rashid from a Public Interest Litigation filed over the functioning of Village Defence Committees (VDCs) pointing out “political interest cannot be advance as personal interest under the garb of public interest”.
Engineer Rashid and Advocate Nazir Ahmad Malik had filed a PIL to seek quashing of order of Home Department (under number Home-293 of 1995, dated 30-09-1995) where in sanction was accorded to creation of VDCs in various districts of the State.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur ordered the deletion of his name from the PIL, directing advocate Malik to file a proper affidavit regarding maintenance of instant PIL as per the rules to explain the locus with regard to filing of the instant petition.
The Bench also deferred the hearing of the PIL and directed the registry to list the matter “as and when needful is done.”
The PIL has sought direction from the court for conducting an impartial enquiry through SHRC “in order to find out the number of incidents in which VDC members have indulged into activities prejudicial to law and immediate disbanding of VDCs.”
The court also declined to hear another PIL filed by human rights activist Khurram Parvez on the VDCs observing “jurisdictional area of petition is covered by Jammu wing of the Court.”
The Bench directed to transfer the matter to the Jammu wing of High Court for its hearing in October this year.
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