JOIN USSC slams UP police for probe into Lakhimpur Kheri case
The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Uttar Pradesh police over its probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case and proposed to appoint a former judge from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to monitor the ongoing investigation, related to mowing down of four farmers and subsequent lynching of four other persons on October 3.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli also expressed gross dissatisfaction on pace of investigation and mixing of witnesses in different FIRs in the matter, after going through status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh government. The court said it appeared the evidences were being collected in the lynching case to protect one particular accused, alluding to the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra.
The court suggested the names of Justices Ranjit Singh and Rakesh Kumar Jain, two retired judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court outside the state of Uttar Pradesh to oversee the investigation in order to "infuse independence, fairness and impartiality" to it.
"We are not confident that your state judicial commission can oversee this," the bench said.
The UP government had appointed retired Allahabad HC judge, Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava to head the judicial commission after the incident.
During the hearing, the court also pulled up the state police, asking why mobile phones of all accused in the incident have not been seized, except that of prime accused Ashish Mishra so far. "Did other accused not use cell phones," the bench asked, saying the pace of probe was not up to expectation.
The court also said there was nothing in the status report.
"We had granted 10 days. Where are the lab reports," the bench asked.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, sought time to take instructions on the court's suggestion on appointment of a judge. He also submitted a journalist was also killed but an impression was given that he was in the car due to political overtones.
Senior advocate Arun Bhardwaj, appearing for wife for one of the accused Shyam Sundar, claimed that the victim was in police custody before his killing. He contended that the statement of those policemen were yet not recorded. He sought a CBI probe into the matter.
The bench, however, asked him to wait some days, saying the CBI was not a solution to everything.
The bench put the matter arising out of a letter by advocate Shiv Kumar Tripathi and another lawyer for independent probe into the incident, for consideration on Friday.
As many as eight people, including four farmers, were killed on October 3, when a car allegedly ferrying the Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son ran over a group of protesters, gathered to oppose a programme attended by Uttar Pradesh's deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya in Lakhimpur Kheri. The minister's son, Ashish Mishra was arrested in the case subsequently after the top court took up the letter petition.
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