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Lakhimpur Kheri violence case: SC slams UP cops for not acting on witness complaint
The Supreme Court emphasized the need to investigate witness influence allegations in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, criticizing UP police for inaction.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that probing allegations of a witness being influenced in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case trial is “imperative” and pulled up the Uttar Pradesh police for delaying action on a June 20 complaint to the effect on the pretext that the said witness was not willing to go to the police station and register a case.
“This may not be a satisfactory explanation on behalf of the police/prosecution,” said a bench headed by justice Surya Kant, observing that when a complainant is unwilling to come forward, a senior police official should have visited the witness and verified the contents of his written complaint.
The complaint assumes significance as Ashish Mishra, son of former Union Minister Ajay Mishra, is one of the accused in the case, and has been out on bail since 2023. Mishra is accused of mowing down four farmers at Lakhimpur on October 3, 2021, as they protested the now-scrapped farm laws.
The witness Baljinder Singh approached the top court in January this year alleging that a person called and threatened him against deposing in the trial. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for Singh informed the court on Tuesday that despite an order passed by the court on March 24 directing the police to investigate the complaint and file a status report, nothing had happened.
The bench, also comprising justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh said, “In case the complainant has been reluctant to come forward with the complaint, some senior police officer can approach him and find out whether he admits to have written the complaint. If the contents of the complaint are acknowledged, it is imperative for police to investigate. Then the necessary consequences must follow.”
Additional advocate general (AAG) Garima Parshad appearing for Uttar Pradesh government informed the court that pursuant to the March 24 order, the Superintendent of Police contacted the witness and asked him to come to the police station and record his complaint.
Mishra represented by senior advocate Siddharth Dave vehemently opposed the allegations leveled by Bhushan claiming that these were politically motivated at the behest of a local Samajwadi Party functionary. Dave said that allegations of influencing witnesses were being made without proof. He further stated that Singh has already been examined during trial.
Bhushan told the court that he submitted the audio clip containing the conversation between Baljinder Singh and a person whose identity is not ascertained in a sealed cover to the court.
The court said, “Let the senior police official examine it. We have already stated in our earlier order that if there is any substance in the complaint, let a status report be filed.” The bench directed the Lakhimpur SP to file a status report on Singh’s complaint.
The court was informed that out of the total list of 208 witnesses, the prosecution had dropped 20 witnesses and of those remaining, 20 key witnesses have been examined so far.
The order granting bail to Mishra placed an express bar against him or any person in his family or supporters exerting influence or threatening against the witnesses. Further, he was restrained from entering Lakhimpur except for trial. However, in March, the court allowed him to visit his home in Lakhimpur every Saturday and leave the place on Sunday, to allow him time to spend with family.
Mishra was arrested within six days of the incident in October 2021. As per the police charge sheet, the killings were pre-planned as Mishra arrived in a Mahindra Thar SUV along with a convoy of 3-4 vehicles at the site where the farmers were protesting.
Infuriated by his act, protesting farmers pulled out three occupants from one of the cars in the convoy and lynched them. A separate criminal case in this regard was registered by police and is pending trial. The four farmers accused in the case were granted regular bail in January 2023.
A journalist was also killed in the melee, taking the total toll to 8.
