The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 24 June 2025 dismissed the plea of a Black Cat Commando of the National Security Guard (NSG), in which it sought exemption from surrender citing his participation in Operation Sindoor. The commandos are accused of killing their wife and in July 2004, she was convicted by the trial court under Section 304-B (Dowry Death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). A bench headed by Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan said, “Service or Black Cat Commando in Operation Sindoor does not give you exemption from domestic atrocities.”
The Commando filed a special permission petition (SLP) claiming that he had been serving in NSG for 20 years and was involved in Operation Sindoor on 7 May 2025, which India started to respond to the terrorist attack on 22 April in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. 26 tourists were killed in this attack. The court rejected his appeal and said that national service does not exempt criminal accountability.
In Operation Sindoor, India made accurate attacks on nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and POK, including the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. More than 170 terrorists were killed in this operation. The commandos in their petition linked their role in this operation with national pride, but the court considered it irrelevant.
Legal experts appreciated the court’s decision, calling it a symbol of equality before the law. Some users on social media termed the commandos’ claims as “shameful”, while others questioned the fairness of the judiciary. The case underlines stress between personal accountability and national service in the background of Operation Sindoor.
