The Jammu and Kashmir High Court went back on its words and refused to ban the use of pellet guns on Wednesday, reports The Indian Express.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey made the statement while hearing a PIL filed by Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association in July.
The court dismissed the PIL which sought prosecution of officers using pellet guns. The High Court concluded that the use of force during a riot is inevitable.
What kind of force should be used at a relevant point of time, or in a given situation/place, has to be decided by the people in charge of the place where the attack is taking place.
Pellet guns, which are considered non-lethal, have caused a large number of injuries, and in some cases even death. Many people have lost their vision during the unrest in the Valley, leading to demands that these be abandoned. A total of 6,000 civilians have suffered injuries due to these weapons.
Underlining that security forces have been exercising maximum restraint in dealing with attacks by violent mobs in Kashmir, the sources said a testimony in this regard was that over 5,500 security personnel have been injured, which was the highest in the country’s history during such situations.
(With inputs from PTI and The Indian Express)
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