Lakhimpur violence: Prepare foolproof case, dispel notion you’re dragging your feet, SC tells SIT
Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 20
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Uttar Pradesh SIT probing the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which eight persons, including four farmers, were killed on October 3, to record statements of more witnesses before a magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC to prepare a foolproof case.
“We get the impression that you are dragging your feet… Please do the needful to dispel that,” a three-Judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana told senior advocate Harish Salve, who represented the Uttar Pradesh Government.
Also read: Ashes of Lakhimpur Kheri victims immersed
After perusing a status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh Government, the Bench repeatedly sought to know the number of accused arrested, the status of their police or judicial custody and how many witnesses’ statements had been recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC, which will make it difficult for them to retract.
Salve told the court that so far 10 accused had been arrested in connection with the death of farmers and statements of 40 witnesses before police and four before a magistrate had been recorded. He said four of the accused were in police custody.
As the Bench sought to know why the rest of the accused were not in police custody, Salve explained that they were initially in police custody and after their interrogation and recording of statements, they were sent to judicial custody.
The Bench, which also included Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli, clarified that it wanted the SIT to record statements of witnesses under Section 164 of the CrPC as many of them might be vulnerable to threat.
“Recording of statements under Section 164 is different! It’s before a Judicial Magistrate. Its evidentiary value is far better…Your SIT can recognise who are the most vulnerable witnesses and can be browbeaten.. then why only four witness statements (under Section 164, CrPC) have been recorded?” the CJI asked Salve, who said the investigation was still on and it got delayed because courts were closed for Dasehra vacation. Directing the Uttar Pradesh Government to file a further updated status report, the top court posted the matter for further hearing on October 26.
At the very outset of the hearing, the Bench took exception to filing of the status report in a sealed cover. “No, that was not required…. We have just received it now… I waited till 1 am last night for any filing. But we received nothing.”
As the CJI said the report has to be filed at least a day before the scheduled hearing, Salve assured that the next status report on the SIT probe would be filed by Monday.
The top court asked the SIT to bifurcate the two cases – mowing down of farmers by an SUV and the subsequent lynching of BJP workers by an angry mob. Salve told the Bench that it was difficult to investigate the second case.
The Bench — which had on October 8 expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the Uttar Pradesh Police had handled the probe into the “brutal” murders – asked the UP Government to ensure that the victims and witnesses were protected properly.
Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV in Lakhimpur Kheri when farmers agitating against farm laws were holding a demonstration against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit on October 3. Two BJP workers and a driver were beaten to death allegedly by angry protesters. A local journalist was also killed in the violence.
Ten people, including Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra, have been arrested in the case by an SIT set up by the UP Government.
Dissatisfied with the handling of the case, the top court had on October 8 pulled up the UP Police for their failure to arrest accused Ashish Mishra, who has since been arrested.
The Bench – which had earlier hinted at handing over the probe to an agency other than the CBI – didn’t talk about changing the probe agency on Wednesday.
Acting on a letter written by advocates Shiv Kumar Tripathi and CS Panda, the top court had on October 7 taken up their plea for a CBI probe into the matter. On Wednesday, Tripathi urged the Bench to direct the UP Government to make a copy of the status report available to him to enable him to assist the court. However, the CJI declined his request, saying there were some sensitive issues involved. “We will see it on the next date,” the CJI told Tripathi.
