A trial court in Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Tuesday rejected an application filed by the Uttar Pradesh government to withdraw criminal charges against those accused of murdering a Muslim man, Mohammed Akhlaq, over suspicions of cow slaughter and beef consumption in 2015.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Dwivedi noted that charges have already been framed in the case and that the witnesses in their police statements have supported the prosecution's case.

The Court rejected the State's argument that there were contradictions in the witness statements recorded before the police.

It held that an examination of these statements did not indicate that the prosecution's case had been demolished. Rather, the evidence supported the prosecution's version of events, the Court opined.

The State had argued that different witnesses had named different persons as the accused.

However, the Court said that the number of accused "being more or fewer" is immaterial at the stage of recording statements by the police

Observing that a serious offence like murder is an offence against society, the Court said that the State's application to withdraw prosecution was without any merit.

"Murder is a grave offence against society, and for this reason, the State prosecutes such cases so that the fear of law is maintained in society," the judge said.

The Court also noted that a witness - the victim's daughter - has been examined as the first prosecution witness, and her testimony ran into 54 pages. Of this, the examination-in-chief was only five pages and about 49 pages consisted of statements made during cross-examination.

"Thereafter, due to the cross-examination not being concluded, the then Presiding Officer closed the cross-examination. No additional evidence has been produced by the prosecution," the order added.

The Court further noted that she had fully supported the prosecution's case.

The State had also submitted that no firearm or sharp-edged weapon had been used by the accused and that the accused had no prior enmity with the victims.

However, the Court noted that the prosecution itself has stated that sticks, rods and bricks were recovered from the accused persons.

In 2015, 50-year-old Akhlaq was beaten to death by a mob of villagers near Dadri in Uttar Pradesh. Akhlaq's son was also injured in the attack, which took place at their house. The mob found meat in his refrigerator and suspected it to be beef.

Akhlaq's murder sparked outrage across the country. Over a dozen people were charged with murder and rioting in the case. However, the trial against these accused persons is yet to conclude.

In August, the Uttar Pradesh government's Justice Department gave its nod to seek the trial court's permission to withdraw the prosecution against the accused persons. The prosecution then filed an application before the trial court stating that the accused persons are also entitled to protections under the Constitution of India.

While rejecting the State's plea, the Court noted that the case has been pending since 2015 despite the framing of charges in 2021. Thus, it stressed that the case must be decided expeditiously. Accordingly, the Court ordered a day-to-day hearing of the trial.

Note: The news report is based on a translation of the order, which is in Hindi.

[Read Order]