[Lakhimpur Kheri] Witnesses to be granted protection, statements to be recorded expeditiously: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court today directed the Uttar Pradesh government to grant protection to the witnesses in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which eight persons were allegedly mowed down by the four-wheeler of Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra Teni (In Re Violence in Lakhimpur Kheri Leading to Loss of Life)..The Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli also directed that the witness statements in the case be recorded expeditiously..After going through the status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh government, CJI Ramana asked,"Why have you kept all accused except one in police custody? For what purpose?"Additional Advocate General for the UP government Garima Prashad told the Bench that the statements of the witnesses were still being recorded. Senior Advocate Harish Salve then told the Court that out of 68, the statements of 30 witnesses have been recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Of these, 23 are eye witnesses. The Court then asked,"Case is there were hundreds of farmers are in a rally. Only 23 people were there?""We gave an advertisement. The people who saw the ones in car etc are already there. A large amount of digital media has been recovered. There are overlapping videos," was Salve's reply..Not satisfied with this reply, Justice Kant noted,"You said there was 4,000 or 5,000 people. Mostly they were locals. Post the incident, most of them have been agitating for an inquiry. Accessibility and identification of such persons in the vehicle should not be a great issue."The Bench went on to stress on the importance of identification of the accused, saying,"If the eye witness is more credible than a bystander then it's best to have that first hand information...Let us not forget that some people in this crowd are just fence sitters. There will be only some who can stand and depose."Salve then offered to disclose to the Court in a sealed cover the Section 164 statements that were recorded. He added that all sixteen accused have been identified..Another issue raised by the Bench was that of witness protection. When Salve informed the Bench that the witnesses have been provided security, CJI Ramana suggested provision of CCTV, home guards.The Court went on to order,"...the concern is getting reports from FSL labs as early as possible. Regarding witness protection, we direct the witnesses to be provided protection by the State. We further direct that 164 statements and the relevant ones be recorded expeditiously. If a judicial officer is not available, district judge can allocate a nearest magistrate to hear the 164 statements.".Appearing for the wife of one of the deceased, Senior Advocate Arun Bharadwaj said,"I appear for Ruby Devi. My husband has been killed. I want justice. The killers are roaming free and threatening me."Salve replied,"This is being probed. The journalist who was in the car was also killed."The Court then asked for separate replies on this aspect."There are two complainants before me. One by Ruby Devi and one death of journalist. State is directed to file separate replies in the case," CJI Ramana recorded..The Court eventually adjourned the matter to November 8..On the last date of hearing, the Court pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for "dragging its feet" while investigating the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.Previously, the Court had expressed its displeasure with the manner in which the Uttar Pradesh government and police were handling the probe into the incident.On October 7, the Court sought a status report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the FIR registered and arrests made in connection with the incident..A petition was registered in the apex court on the basis of letters seeking registration of an FIR in the matter as well as punishment to the guilty parties involved in the incident.Two lawyers from Uttar Pradesh had written a letter to CJI NV Ramana seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In their letter, Advocates Shivkumar Tripathi and CS Panda also sought a direction to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure the registration of an FIR in the matter as well as punishment to the guilty parties involved in the incident..[Read Order]