[Lakhimpur Kheri] You are dragging your feet, dispel that impression: Supreme Court to UP govt

The Supreme Court today once again pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for "dragging its feet" while investigating the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which eight persons were killed (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 observed during the hearing,

"We think you are dragging your feet. Please dispel that impression."

. Appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, Senior Advocate Harish Salv e informed the Court that he had submitted a report on the incident in a sealed cover. In response, CJI Ramana said,

"No, that was not required and we have just received it now...We waited till 1 AM last night for any filing. But we received nothing."

"We never said anything about sealed covers," Justice Kant added.

. Salve then apprised the Court on the status of the accused.

"A concern was stated that the State was going soft on the accused, now everybody is arrested and they are in jail. As of today, there are 10 accused inside jail. There are two crimes which was driving into farmers and the other one in which a person was lynched," he said.

The Court then noted that out of forty-four witnesses, statements of only four were recorded. Salve then told the Court that out of the ten accused, four were in police custody. This prompted the Bench to ask,

"What about the other six? You did not seek custody so they were sent to judicial custody. What is the situation in this case?"

Salve added that the statements of other witnesses were being recorded, but the courts had shut.

A sceptical Justice Kohli asked,

"Criminal courts closed for Dussehra vacations?

. At Salve's request for time to record statements of witnesses, the Court adjourned the matter to Tuesday, October 26.

. 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.

. On the last date of hearing , the Court expressed its displeasure with the manner in which the Uttar Pradesh government and police were handling the probe into the incident.

The Bench was also miffed with the media's coverage of the incident, with Justice Kant saying,

"We are sorry to see how media is exceeding freedom of speech and expression. CJI is gracious enough to let this go else proceedings could take place."

. 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 Lakhimpur Kheri incident, in which eight persons including farmers were allegedly mowed down by the four-wheeler of Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State Ajay Mishra Teni.

The Court was then informed that a judicial commission of inquiry as well as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted, and that an FIR has been registered. The Bench sought details of the public interest litigation petitions pending before the Allahabad High Court on the issue.

. The main accused in the matter, Ashish Mishra, was arrested by the UP Police on October 9. He was subsequently denied bail by a local court on October 13.

. [Read Order]

[Lakhimpur Kheri] You are dragging your feet, dispel that impression: Supreme Court to UP govt

Debayan Roy

Related Stories