Mishra assassination: High Court lists plea by grandson, convicts for May 16

New Delhi, April 7

The Delhi High Court has listed for May 16 a plea by the grandson of former Railways Minister LN Mishra seeking a fair re-investigation into his killing in a blast at Bihar’s Samastipur railway station over 48 years ago.

A Bench, headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, listed the application by Vaibhav Mishra along with an appeal by the convicts against their conviction and imposition of life sentence for the murder.

The grandson approached the high court after the Supreme Court, on October 13 last year, permitted him to assist in final hearing of the appeal of the convicts.

“The present application under Section 482 CrPC has been filed pursuant to order dated October 13, 2023, passed by Supreme Court. List along with the main appeal on May 16, 2024,” the Bench, also comprising Justice Manoj Jain, said in a recent order.

The veteran Congress leader and senior cabinet minister had received fatal injuries in grenade blasts at Samastipur where he had gone for inauguration of broad gauge line on January 2, 1975.

He was shifted for treatment from Samastipur to Danapur, where he succumbed to injuries on January 3, 1975.

Vaibhav Mishra had moved the top court challenging an order of the high court rejecting his plea for a direction to the CBI to conduct “fair investigation” and “re-investigation” in the matter.

Alleging that the probe was botched up, Mishra had sought a fresh probe on several grounds, including that the real culprits were discharged leading to “travesty of justice”.

Three ‘Ananda Margis’ — Santoshanand, Sudevanand and Gopalji — and advocate Ranjan Dwivedi were sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2014 by a trial court here for the killing of the former minister and two others.

The trial court had held that the terror act was aimed at pressuring the then Indira Gandhi government to release the group’s jailed chief.

The convicts had filed the appeal before the high court in 2015 challenging the trial court’s verdict convicting and sentencing them and they were granted bail. The appeal is still pending in the high court.

The trial court had also directed the Bihar Government to pay Rs 5 lakh each to the legal heirs of Mishra and two other victims who had died in the blast on January 2, 1975, just few months before the proclamation of the Emergency.

It had held that the conspiracy to eliminate the targets was hatched at a meeting in 1973 at a village in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, attended by six ‘Ananda Margis’.

Accused Ram Nagina Prasad and Ram Rup were discharged by the court in January 1981, while Arteshanand Avadhoot died in 2004 during the pendency of the case.

Two others — Visheshwaranand and Vikram — were granted pardon after they turned approvers. — PTI

1975 blast

• Former Railways Minister LN Mishra died in a blast that took place at Bihar’s Samastipur railway station on January 2, 1975
• The veteran Congress leader and senior Cabinet minister received fatal injuries and succumbed on January 3, 1975
• Three ‘Ananda Margis’ — Santoshanand, Sudevanand and Gopalji — and advocate Ranjan Dwivedi were sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2014 by a trial court
• The court had held that the terror act was aimed at pressuring the then Indira Gandhi government to release the group’s jailed chief

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