JAMMU, Nov 2025:
In a significant development, the Court of the City Judge Jammu, presided over by Mr. Ghulam Murtaza, has issued a notice to the SHO Police Station Gandhi Nagar seeking an explanation for the non-registration of an FIR against suspended DySP Sunil Singh Jasrotia, his PSOs, and other accompanying police personnel. The action follows a detailed complaint filed by Azhar Khan, a JKAS officer currently posted as Block Development Officer (BDO) Nagrota, who has accused the suspended officer of assault, wrongful restraint, criminal intimidation, caste-based abuses, and obstruction of official election duties.
The court issued the notice after hearing Senior Advocate Aseem Kumar Sawhney, who argued on behalf of the complainant with Mr A K Sawhney Advocate. He was assisted by a full team of advocates, including Advocates Kashif Malik, Anil Kumar, Harsh Singh, Sarfraz Ahmed, Khushboo Sharma, Aafia Choudhary, and Shabab Malik. The court directed the SHO to file a comprehensive status report on the written complaint previously submitted by the BDO.
According to the complaint, Azhar Khan had been appointed as the Nodal Officer for transportation for the 77-Nagrota Assembly Constituency bye-election scheduled on November 11, 2025. On November 10, at around 12:10 PM, Khan and his team were inspecting transport routes near the distribution centre in Nagrota when they were involved in a minor road accident. The complaint alleges that DySP Sunil Jasrotia reached the spot and, despite being informed repeatedly that Khan was on authorised election duty under written orders, began shouting, abusing, intimidating, and defaming him.
Khan alleged that the DySP then physically assaulted him by slapping and kicking him in full public view, causing injuries and public humiliation. He further states that Jasrotia, along with his PSOs and other police personnel, forcibly abducted him in a police vehicle to the police station, where he was wrongfully confined, further beaten, abused, and threatened with dire consequences. His colleague Abbas Ali, VLW, who was part of the transport team, was also allegedly manhandled and assaulted. The complaint also states that both were subjected to caste-based insults linked to their Gujjar identity. Their phones were allegedly seized, and they were prevented from performing their official election duties.
The incident, according to the complainant, was captured in CCTV footage, which he has requested the authorities to preserve and examine.
Khan submitted written complaints first to the SHO Gandhi Nagar and then to the SSP Jammu. However, no FIR was registered, prompting him to approach the court under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. He has sought registration of an FIR under Sections 119, 124(1), 125(2), 130, 131, 133, 222, 136, 349(2), 354(1) of the BNS 2023 and Section 3 of the SC/ST Act.
Senior Advocate Aseem Sawhney argued that the police refusal to register an FIR violated the mandatory directions laid down by the Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari vs. State of UP and Priyanka Srivastava vs. State of UP, which make FIR registration compulsory in cognizable offences and require sworn affidavits in such complaints—both of which the complainant has complied with.
Following the arguments, the City Judge ordered the SHO Gandhi Nagar to submit a detailed status report explaining the inaction.
