Yesterday, The High Court of J&K and Ladakh stayed a judgment, pending the outcome of an appeal, with regard to the new Village Defence Guards’ (VDG) scheme announced by the Centre last year as part of efforts to tackle terror activities in the Union Territory.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Rahul Bharti stayed the single-judge Bench’s verdict. “Keeping in mind all the factors and circumstances..., we are of the opinion that interest of justice would be better served if the impugned judgment and connected writ petitions stays in terms of its operation during the pendency of the letters patent appeal,” the Division Bench sated.

Early in April,  a single-judge Bench quashed the 2022 scheme and directed authorities to treat special police officers as having been appointed under the Village Defence Committee scheme of 1995 with all powers and privileges of the SPOs under the Police Act.

Last year, on the occasion of Independence Day, the scheme got introduced and replaced a 1995 scheme of the J&K government.

However, the new VDG scheme was challenged in the HC and petitions were filed, mostly by special police officers (SPOs) heading these groups whose monthly honorarium was reduced from Rs 18,000 to Rs 4,500.