To begin with, it is not at all amazing to see how 3 stone pelters were gunned down by soldiers just recently who fired in self defence. It is fast becoming a regular phenomenon in Kashmir Valley! These stone pelters who gather in large numbers and then without any provocation start pelting stones at soldiers who are engaged in operations with terrorists themselves behave like terrorists and like terrorists are responsible for inviting death.

Needless to say, stone pelters have no right to life under any circumstances the moment they pick up stones and attack our soldiers without any provocation! If they want the "right to life" then they have to give up this "menace and suicidal habit of stone pelting" which can never become a right under any circumstances and lead life like a good human being! They cannot have both the things at the same time! Now it is for them to decide for themselves which course of action they want to choose for themselves!

To be sure, stone pelters whether they are women or small children or anyone else who attack Indian soldiers by forming groups and behave like Pakistani soldiers and terrorists by making determined efforts to disrupt the operations of security forces at encounter sites in the militancy-hit state of Jammu and Kashmir can claim no right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution in which they just don't believe as they want to make India a land of ISIS which is a global terror group and which wants to conquer India by force through their foot soldiers like stone pelters who proudly display flags of ISIS every now and then as we see in different news channels also! Moreover, no Constitution, no law, no Judge, no court not even Supreme Court can be above the unity and integrity of India and confer on anyone whether they are small children or women the right to behave like Pakistani soldiers and terrorists by attacking Indian soldiers and not allowing them to do their job of eliminating terrorists! Such stone pelters are themselves responsible for landing in graves rather than in schools or hospitals or any other good place!

Why the lawyers of human rights groups and human right organisations themselves like Amnesty International don't utter even a single word when these stone pelters attack not just soldiers but even tourists from other states and kill them like a Tamil tourist R Thirumani aged 22 years after he was hit on the head by a stone during a protest on the outskirts of Srinagar near Narbal? The then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti said: "My head hangs in shame. It is very sad and heartbreaking." Another former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and the working President of National Conference which is the main opposition party – Omar Abdullah said that, "We've killed a tourist by throwing stones at the vehicle he was travelling in. Let's try and wrap our heads around the fact that we stoned a tourist, a guest, to death while we glorify these stone pelters and their methods."

What I find most shocking is that even Supreme Court has failed to strongly lash out against them! Why Supreme Court allowed the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti to withdraw cases against nearly 10,000 stone pelters which has only served to further encourage them to indulge in more stone pelting? Why didn't Supreme Court intervene to stop this open mockery of "rule of law" and open abetment to "rule of stone pelters"? What purpose did it serve? More and more stone pelting which culminated in more and more killings!

How long will Supreme Court lay blame at the doorsteps of just soldiers alone? Soldiers are expected to display the highest level of discipline and restraint but how can any soldier tolerate, tolerate and tolerate repeated abuses and attacks on his uniform, his helmet, his motherland, his Constitution and his nation flag among other things and see them being burnt and even tolerate personal attacks like a sacrificial lamb and still do nothing? This is what Supreme Court must now start understanding and not like politicians repeatedly expect soldiers alone to display repeated maximum restraint!

Even now it is not too late. Supreme Court must declare stone pelting to be an "act of war" which will invite the highest retribution! Only then will people stop indulging in stone pelting! If not checked this will replicate all over our country which shall have catastrophic consequences for our nation which can never be permitted to happen under any circumstances! Already we are seeing how mob violence in India is growing by leaps and bounds of which even Supreme Court has taken note as in the case of killings in name of cow!

How can stone pelters first themselves act as agents of terrorists, traitors and Pakistan and then claim protection under different Articles of the Constitution in which they just don't believe? How can stone pelters act like terrorists and attack soldiers without any provocation and still play the "victimhood card" and scream "security forces excess"? How can Supreme Court also afford to overlook all this?

It is thanks to media that we get to see live how our soldiers are slapped by Kashmiris, their helmets are thrown in dustbin and they are kicked and big stones are thrown at them and still we all including Supreme Court and politicians expect soldiers to exercise "maximum restraint"! For how long? Every soldier does not have the same temperament! There are many who can't tolerate repeated insults and they feel compelled to retaliate on being provoked which results in many Kashmiris being killed in firing!

Why can't Kashmiris give up stone pelting as a "mean of earning" quick bucks? Why separatists leaders like Hurriyat are allowed to not just get away even after encouraging stone pelting and terrorism by just putting them in house arrest and spending more than Rs 560 crore on their security? Why are they not treated like ordinary criminals and put behind bars? Why police cops like late slain DSP Ayyub Pandit are posted for their security who are killed by followers of these leaders themselves most brutally after maiming him of his crucial body parts and then burnt alive?

Why again Supreme Court says nothing on this? Why Supreme Court keeps getting angry on soldiers alone? Why cases are allowed to be withdrawn against traitors, stone pelters and those responsible for killing more than lakh Kashmiri Pandits making them refugees in their own country for no fault of their own and Hurriyat leaders like Bitta Karate who even though involved in some of the killings are allowed to live life like a free bird as was rightly questioned by a leading news channel in their prime time show?

It is high time and Supreme Court must now come down heavily on all such anti-India elements just like it comes down on soldiers whenever they indulge in fake encounter killings or in any other act of wrong doing! Of course those soldiers who break law must be punished but why should cases against stone pelters be allowed to be withdrawn openly without any one to stop them and why should murderers of Kashmiri Pandits be allowed to live like a free bird in Kashmir and play separatist politics? They must be shown their right place in jail right now!

All said and done, Supreme Court must now act swiftly and sternly against such traitors, murderers and sympathisers of terrorists who have ensured that even those Kashmiris like Aurangzeb Khan, Lt Umar Fayyaz among others who join Army, Javed Ahmed Dar, DSP Ayyub Pandit among others who join police are killed most brutally and when security forces target their killers these stone pelters gather in group and start their favourite pastime of stone pelting to allow these killers and terrorists to once again easily escape like many times they did in the past! Supreme Court must now stop watching all this like a mute spectator and start acting hard on such reprehensible acts like withdrawing cases against stone pelters which has virtually made Kashmir a land of stone pelting and yet we don't get to hear Supreme Court say a word on this! This has only encouraged stone pelters to further indulge in it with more vigour and enthusiasm!

We all hold Supreme Court in the highest esteem and it must now vindicate our unflinching faith by coming down hard on these "stone pelters" and "players involved in sustaining their reprehensible acts" by ensuring withdrawal of cases against them time and again and instead filing FIR against soldiers as we see repeatedly in Kashmir and treating them like criminals by making them to appear in courts for no fault of theirs other than doing their job sincerely and giving clarifications and proof that they are not guilty of any wrongdoing! Stone pelters must be brought to book and cases should not be allowed to be withdrawn against them under any circumstances! The earlier this is done, the better it shall be in our long term national interests!

If this is not done, the dwindling strength of soldiers will further dwindle for which we all will be equally responsible and the topmost responsibility would be of the Apex Court as it is the highest court in India which is expected to intervene whenever anything wrong happens but which never says anything on such matters! Now it is for the Apex Court itself to decide which course of action it wants to adopt for itself! Just condemning soldiers always at the drop of a hat and saying nothing to stone pelters has done no good to our nation and we are all seeing for ourselves how this has become a "national shame" and is encouraging mob to take law in their own hands as we see in case of those who kill people in the name of cow and mercifully here the Supreme Court has just recently spoken out very strongly and very commendably against all such despicable acts of killing by mobs in the name of cow which certainly deserve zero tolerance just like stone pelting!

On a concluding note, stone pelters and terrorists have no right to life nor can they claim so after betraying their own country and soldiers have every right to kill them whenever they challenge them by attacking them without any provocation with big stones which can kill any soldier anytime! Who can question this? No justification can be allowed for stone pelting and terrorism under any circumstances which have to be dealt with on an equal footing!

It is high time and without wasting any time further Supreme Court too must also endorse this now! This is imperative also so that the right and strong message goes out among all stone pelters that no one will be there to hold their hands if they dare to attack soldiers without any provocation just for the sake of making quick bucks funded directly from Pakistan! There can be no compromise on our national security under any circumstances!

Which sane person will ever justify stone pelting and which good country will ever permit stone pelting to happen on a regular basis on soldiers who guard our nation against all odds from hostile countries like Pakistan? There has to be "zero tolerance" for "stone pelters" and "stone pelting" if this "Frankenstein monster" has to be controlled well in time just like we see in case of "terrorists and terrorism"! It will not be an exaggeration to say that stone pelters and terrorists have no right to life under any circumstances and they have to be killed most ruthlessly by forces the moment they indulge in their despicable acts!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.