Jammu Kashmir High Court Denies Bail to Retired SP in Sikh Youth Murder Case

SRINAGAR: The Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has refused bail to a retired superintendent of police, Sheikh Mehmood alias Modi, accused in the murder of Sikh youth Avtar Singh during a land dispute in Jammu last year, ruling that his health condition does not warrant release on medical grounds.

Justice Sanjay Dhar, in a common judgment delivered on November 4, dismissed Mehmood’s plea, observing that “continuous medication and close follow-up” can be ensured even while he remains in jail. The order also disposed of three other bail applications, six criminal revision petitions, and one petition under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS).

Mehmood, who retired as a senior police officer, was arrested in March 2024, and has been in custody since. Seeking bail, he claimed innocence, arguing that he was in Delhi for medical treatment on the day of the incident and had been falsely implicated. He submitted that he suffers from cardiac disease and Crohn’s disease, requiring specialised treatment unavailable in Jammu and Kashmir.

However, the court cited the report of a medical board that examined him in August, which confirmed his past ailments but found no evidence of deterioration. “It is not reported that his aforesaid ailments cannot be managed while he is in jail,” Justice Dhar observed. “The only thing reported by the medical board is that he requires continuous medication and close follow-up, which can be provided to him even while being incarcerated.”

The court thus held that his medical condition was not sufficient ground for bail.

The retired officer is one of nearly a dozen accused in the killing of Avtar Singh, who died after a violent clash over land in Jammu’s Greater Kailash area in April 2024. The other accused include Parshotam Singh, Sachin Patyal, Ravinder Kumar Gupta alias Gola Shah, Davinder Pal Singh, Suraj Singh, Varun Kumar, Vikas Singh, and Sandeep Charak.

The trial court, while framing charges in November 2024, had discharged three accused — Sharat Puri, Rajat Jandiyal, and Raghunandan Singh alias Raghu — for lack of evidence but charged the rest under sections related to murder, attempt to murder, and criminal conspiracy.

The court also found prima facie involvement of three more persons — Jaipreet Singh alias Honey, Poonam Kumari, and Ghambir Singh — and directed their re-arrest or issuance of non-bailable warrants after noting that they had evaded arrest.

The case stems from an April 30, 2024, complaint by Jagir Singh, the victim’s uncle, who alleged that a group led by land broker Ravinder Kumar alias Gola Shah and others attacked his brother Balbir Singh and nephew Avtar Singh in the presence of police personnel who failed to intervene. Avtar Singh later succumbed to his injuries.

The investigation, led by a special team under ASP Kartik Shrotriya, uncovered the alleged role of Mehmood and others in orchestrating the assault.

A charge sheet filed by Jammu Police in July this year accused the former SP and his co-accused of criminal conspiracy, rioting, trespass, and murder. It also flagged the conduct of PSI Puneet Sharma, the then in-charge of Police Post Greater Kailash, for allegedly being “hand in glove with land grabbers” and failing to act despite repeated pleas from the victims. The court has since directed further investigation into his role.

In its observations, the trial court had also criticised the quality of the investigation, noting serious procedural lapses and “poorly prepared charge sheets”, and urged the Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, to ensure a fair and professional trial process.

The High Court, while disposing of the latest petitions, upheld the trial court’s findings, stating that the facts presented so far — including the use of a weapon picked up from the scene — were not sufficient to conclude that the case involved a mere “sudden fight” rather than a planned act of murder.

The case, one of Jammu’s most high-profile land dispute murders in recent years, will now proceed before the trial court with Mehmood and other accused remaining in judicial custody.