The armed forces tribunal here has suspended the life sentence of an Army captain who was found guilty of killing three men in a "staged" encounter in south Kashmir's Amshipora village in July 2020.

The tribunal also granted conditional bail to Captain Bhoopendra Singh and directed him to appear before its principal registrar on the first Monday of every month starting from January next year.

When contacted, Captain Singh's counsel Maj (Retd) Sudhanshu S Pandey declined to share details of the case, saying it is still sub-judice.

He, however, confirmed the grant of bail and said the stand of the defence which the Summary General Court Martial (SGCM) had completely disregarded has been vindicated.

"Such conviction of the young officer in this manner would have a very demoralising effect on other officers who are sacrificing their lives for the defence of the nation. It would have led to a bizarre situation where the young officers instead of showing willingness to put their lives at risk for word of command will insist on written orders when such operations are conducted. I express my gratitude for the armed forces tribunal to uphold the rule of law,” he said.

The case relates to the July 18, 2020 encounter at Amshipora in which three men of Rajouri district -- Imtiyaz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammed Ibrar -- were killed and branded as terrorists.

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