“Fearful Policemen Unfit For Duty In Terror Threats”: Jammu & Kashmir HC

The police officers and personnel responsible for public safety are not fit to be part of the police force if they are afraid of terrorists.

If the protectors of the public shirk their duties, then only God can save this country. The High Court made these remarks during the hearing of a petition by a dismissed police officer.

While hearing the petition of Special Police Officer Ajaz Rashid Khande, who applied for reinstatement after being absent from duty due to a terrorist threat, Justice Sanjay Dhar of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court stated, “It is clear that given the nature of the petitioner’s appointment, he was not entitled to any right of hearing or inquiry.”

Therefore, it wasn’t necessary for the respondents to conduct an investigation or provide an opportunity for a hearing before terminating his services as an SPO.

In any case, such an investigation wasn’t necessary given the facts and circumstances of the current case.

According to available information, Khande was appointed as an SPO in 2014. He was dismissed from his position in 2019 for being absent from duty.

The SPO informed the court that he received threats from terrorists and was being surveilled while living in Anantnag in 2016, which was why he was absent from his job.

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