Nganglam drungkhag court conducted a miscellaneous hearing of the case filed against the police officer-in-command (OC) by two residents and dismissed it yesterday.

The two residents, Jampel Dorji and Lhendup, filed a case against the OC for battery and misuse of power on November 15, alleging that the OC battered them around 1am on November 13.

The court cited section 120 and 31.1 (b) of the Civil and Criminal Procedure Code of Bhutan (CCPC) 2001 as the reason for dismissal of the case.

Section 120 of the CCPC is on court venue, which states, “A petition relating to any civil suit for any relief shall be instituted in the court with jurisdiction.”

Section 31.1 (b) states that a case shall be registered with the registry of the court by a prosecutor or a jabmi hired by the state to prosecute.

Court officials have earlier explained that individuals cannot file a criminal case since it is a crime against the state and state prosecutors like police, Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) should prosecute it.

One of the complainants, Jampel Dorji, said that court officials have advised them to appeal to the Samdrupjongkhar police superintendent (SP). “Lhendup and I have decided to go and appeal to the SP today.”

Nganglam OC Kuenchap said that he couldn’t comment since he is involved in the case.

Yeshey Dema and  Tashi Dema