Court rejects UP Govt’s plea to withdraw charges
A court in Surajpur on Tuesday rejected the Uttar Pradesh Government’s plea seeking withdrawal of charges against the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri and directed that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis. Additional District and Sessions Judge Saurabh Dwivedi dismissed the application filed by the prosecution as “baseless”, advocate Yusuf Saifi, counsel for Akhlaq’s family. The next hearing has been fixed for January 6.
“The court has rejected the State Government’s application to withdraw all charges against the accused in the Akhlaq lynching case and ordered fast-tracking of the trial with daily hearings,” Saifi said. Earlier, the matter had been listed for December 18 and was subsequently scheduled for a hearing on December 23.
The Uttar Pradesh Government had moved the court seeking permission to withdraw the case against all 14 accused, citing maintenance of social harmony. The application was filed by the assistant district Government advocate (criminal) following directions from the State Government and the joint director of prosecution.
Mohammad Akhlaq was killed in September 2015 after a mob attacked him at his residence in Bisahda village under Jarcha police station limits in Greater Noida over rumours that beef was stored there, triggering nationwide outrage and debate over mob violence and communal tensions. Senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat welcomed the court’s decision rejecting the UP Government’s affidavit.
Karat called it a “big step” for justice and a slap on the face of the UP Government. “We welcome the judgment of the Greater Noida District Court. It has rejected the UP Government’s affidavit to withdraw the case of mob lynching and murder, and attempt to murder against the accused,” she said.
“The judgment is a big step for justice. It is a slap on the face of the UP double-Engine Government to subvert the processes of justice and constitutes a strong message against any attempts by other double engine Governments to withdraw cases of mob lynching,” she said.
