A dispute inside a Tehsildar’s office in Sopore has become larger than the allegations themselves. 

Two young lawyers say they were mistreated during a professional visit on August 19. The Tehsildar rejects the allegations, but the Bar Association Sopore began a sit-in and sought action. The administration, meanwhile, remained largely silent.

That silence is the weakest possible institutional response.

The lawyers are seeking action, but the deeper demand is for a process capable of establishing what happened. 

Such a process would give the Tehsildar an opportunity to answer the allegations and give the lawyers a formal avenue through which their complaint could be examined. 

Both interests belong to the same principle: due process.

Mohammad Waseem, one of the lawyers and the complainant, alleges that he entered the Tehsildar’s office while his clients were being questioned and was ordered to leave. 

He says abusive and threatening language followed, including derogatory remarks about him and lawyers generally. He also alleges a threat of being sent to the lock-up and other consequences. The Bar Association’s resolution condemning the incident records similar allegations.

These are serious claims, but they also remain claims.

A public officer cannot be presumed guilty because a professional body has endorsed an allegation. Administrative action based solely on collective pressure would weaken the very principle the lawyers are invoking. 

The Tehsildar has publicly rejected the allegations and released CCTV footage three days after the incident. The footage........

© Kashmir Observer