Supreme Court Rebukes Petitioners Over Pahalgam Attack PIL, Declines Judicial Probe

 New Delhi, May 1, 2025 — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a judicial inquiry into the recent Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 individuals — including several foreign tourists — lost their lives. The bench issued a stern rebuke to the petitioners, cautioning against judicial overreach in sensitive national security matters.

A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh firmly questioned the intent behind the petition. “Do you want to demoralise the security forces?” the bench asked, criticising the PIL as potentially undermining the morale of personnel engaged in counter-terror operations.

Rejecting the plea, the court made clear its limitations in matters involving national security and intelligence-led investigations. “Judges are not experts in probe of terror cases,” the bench observed, underscoring that the judiciary must exercise restraint in domains better handled by specialized agencies.

The bench further advised the petitioners to refrain from placing such matters within the judicial domain. “Do not bring such issues in the judicial domain,” it said, indicating that calls for judicial intervention in ongoing security investigations can risk politicisation and disrupt operational processes.

The petition had called for a court-monitored inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the high-casualty attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam region, which has drawn international condemnation and prompted heightened security alerts across the Valley.

The court’s remarks signal a broader reluctance to judicially intervene in national security matters unless there is compelling evidence of systemic failure or legal violations.