Disposing of the Army petition, Justice Hasnain Masoodi said the Army can exercise the option of trying the nine accused personnel including a Colonel and two Majors in the GCM, Army Counsel Karnail SIngh Wazir said.
He said the Army will now approach the concerned court seeking the transfer of the case to the GCM.
The High Court also set aside the orders of the Principal District and Sessions Judge Baramulla and Chief Judicial Magistrate Baramulla, in which the subordinate courts had maintained that Army cannot exercise the option and the accused personnel have to face trial in the criminal court.
The High Court ruling came two months after Supreme Court held that Army can exercise the option of trying the accused personnel in the Pathribal fake encounter case in the GCM.
On April 30, 2010, three youths from Baramulla district were shot dead in an alleged fake encounter in the Machhil sector of Kupwara district near the Line of Control and passed off as infiltrators from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Shehzad Ahmad, Riyaz Ahmad and Mohammad Shafi were allegedly lured to Line of Control by an SPO on the pretext of getting them high paying jobs with army.
The alleged fake encounter sparked low intensity protests in several parts of the Valley, leading to separate inquiries by police and army into the incident.
Police filed charge sheet against Colonel D K Pathania of the 4 Rajput Rifles, Major Upendra Singh, Major Maurya (Adjutant), Subedar Satbir, Hawaldar Bir Singh, Sepoy Chadra Bhan, Sepoy Nagendra Singh, Sepoy Narendra Singh and Abbas Hussain Shah of the Territorial Army.
