SRINAGAR: A Srinagar court Friday ordered four men — convicted of drinking and creating public nuisance — to perform community service at Sufi shrine Makhdoom Sahib and clean a govt girls’ higher secondary school.
While sentencing the accused — who had pleaded guilty to the charges — additional judicial magistrate Zirgham Hamid observed that the four were poor and the sole bread-earners of their families; imprisonment would disrupt their daily routine. In contrast, community service is seen as a way to integrate offenders back into society, allowing them to make amends for their actions through constructive contributions, the judge said, adding: “This approach also reflects a more humane and progressive view of justice, recognising the potential for positive change in every individual.”
The community service is to be carried out from 8am to 11am on April 5 and 6 at the Sufi shrine in Srinagar’s old city, which not only serves as a religious place but is also a hub of cultural and social activities, hosting events and festivals that bring the community together, the judge said. The cleaning of the school in Nowhatta (also part of the old city) is to be conducted from 9am to 12pm on April 7 and 8, the court ruled.
On April 1, 2025, a complaint was filed at Nowhatta police station alleging that the four men — Manzoor Ahmad Malla, Javid Ahmad Qureshi, Parveez Ahmad Monchi and Shabir Ahmad Sheikh — were causing annoyance and abusing the general public at the main road in Nowhatta’s Sheikh Colony.
A police party found the four in an inebriated state, creating a nuisance. Later, their medical examination proved that they were drunk.
When produced before the court, the accused said they wanted to “confess their guilt” and sought a lenient view, pleading “they are very poor labourers and don’t have money to pay a fine”. While the court told them that they were not bound to plead guilty, they insisted that their decision was not induced by fear, pressure or undue influence but was voluntary.