The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a
PIL filed by a former Army officer alleging lapses on the part of Army in
acting on information with regard to Pakistan's incursions before the 1999
Kargil war.
The judiciary normally does not go into the matter
of national defence what happened in 1999 in the war is the internal matter
relating to executive decision, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna
and Justice Sanjay Kumar said.
The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Panchkula-based
former Army officer Manish Bhatnagar.
He alleged that he had provided credible information
about Kargil incursions much before it was officially taken note of and acted
upon.
There are certain things where the judiciary should
not enter. It will be wrong on our part, the CJI said, adding, you participated
in the war and now leave the issues as they are.
Sensing the outcome, Bhatnagar, who argued the case,
sought withdraw of the PIL which was permitted.
Bhatnagar, a former officer of the 5th Battalion of
the Parachute Regiment, had earlier raised questions regarding the discovery of
the intrusions and the manner in which these were handled subsequently in the
conduct of operations.
He had earlier alleged that his inputs on Kargil
intrusion were sent to his seniors as early as January-February 1999 but were
ignored.
Bhatnagar had contended that when a full-scale
conflict broke out, he was court martialed on another pretext and made to leave
the Army.
The Kargil war took place from May to July 1999
after the Army detected Pakistan fighters inside the Indian side.