Vehicle belongs to Minister’s son; SC unhappy at sluggish investigation, wants another HC ex-judge to monitor SIT probe
The Uttar Pradesh Government on Monday informed the Supreme Court that journalist Raman Kashyap killed in the violent incident at Lakhimpur Kheri died of the impact of the car owned by Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son and not by lynching by farmers. Meanwhile, expressing displeasure on the delay in the probe, the apex court said it has no confidence and does not want the one-member judicial commission appointed by the Uttar Pradesh Government to continue probe into the Lakhimpur violence in which 8 people were killed — four farmers hit by vehicles and 3 lynched — on October 3.
Representing the UP Government, a noted lawyer said that probe found that the journalist was crushed by the car owned by Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son. Reacting to this information, Justice Surya Kant said “that innocent journalist’s cause of death was different than what was projected. Impression given was he was beaten to death.”
Retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava was named by the State Government earlier to enquire into the eruption of violence on Tikonia-Banbirpur road in Lakhimpur Kheri district. The bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana, in a hearing conducted through video conferencing, suggested to the State Government that the monitoring of the ongoing probe be done by a former judge of a “different High Court” to infuse “independence, impartiality and fairness”.
“We, somehow or the other, are not confident and we do not want any judicial commission appointed by your State Government to continue,” said the bench, also comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli. The bench referred to two FIRs, one pertaining to mowing down of the farmers and the other related to subsequent lynching of BJP activists by the mob, and said prima facie it appeared that evidence waas being procured to protect the accused in the first case.
“We are inclined to appoint a former judge of a different high court to monitor the investigation on a day-to-day basis and then see how the separate charge sheets are eventually prepared,” said the bench.
Speaking for the apex court bench, Justice Kant suggested the names of justices Ranjit Singh and Rakesh Kumar Jain, both former judges of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, and said they are experienced in the field of criminal law and would oversee the SIT probe till filing of the chargesheets in the cases. The State Government has to respond to it by November 12.