‘Have you ever heard of a murder case being withdrawn?’: Court in Akhlaq lynching case
The court was hearing the UP government’s petition to withdraw all charges against the accused in the 2015 case. The next hearing is on December 18
The Surajpur fast-track court deferred the UP government's application to withdraw charges against 19 accused in the 2015 Akhlaq lynching case until December 18. (File) A fast-track court in Surajpur Friday remarked whether a case of murder can be withdrawn in the middle of a trial. The observation came while the court was hearing the Uttar Pradesh government’s petition to withdraw all charges against the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq.
The defence counsel asked that the hearing be held next month. The prosecution told Additional District Judge (ADJ) Saurabh Dwivedi that they wanted to file an objection against the state’s petition to withdraw the case. “This is not right and we want to argue,” the prosecution’s lawyer Yusuf Saifi told the court.
Hearing this, ADJ Dwivedi said, “If you want to argue the case, you can. Have you ever heard a case under IPC 302 being withdrawn. Get an application,” he said.
ADJ Dwivedi also asked both counsel to expedite the process of recording statements of all witnesses in court. “The mother is dead. And the wife has been ailing. We will record it soon,” Saifi told the court.
Following the application, the judge said the next hearing date will be on December 18.
The court had reserved the case for December 12 after the government moved the application to withdraw prosecution against the accused.
Akhlaq (50) was lynched by a mob over rumours of alleged cow slaughter and storing its meat at his home in Dadri’s Bisada village.
On September 28, 2015, a mob gathered outside his house after an announcement from the village temple alleged that he had slaughtered a cow. Akhlaq and his son Danish, who tried to intervene, were dragged out of their home and assaulted until they fell unconscious. Akhlaq later died at a Noida hospital, while Danish survived after suffering severe head injuries and undergoing major surgery.
Police had registered an FIR at Jarcha police station under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder),147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (assault), 504 (intentional insult to disturb peace), among others, based on a complaint by Akhlaq’s wife, Ikraman.
Police filed the chargesheet on December 23, 2015, before the magistrate court in Surajpur, naming 15 people, including a minor, in connection with the lynching. However, the chargesheet did not specifically mention cow meat, as the final forensic report was not available at the time.
The case was taken up by the sessions court on February 9, 2016, and subsequently transferred to the fast-track court in April 2016. The statement of Akhlaq’s daughter, Shaista, was recorded on August 3, 2016, during the evidence stage of the trial.
On October 15, this year, the UP government filed an application under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code seeking to withdraw all charges against the accused, citing changes in witness statements and evidentiary issues.
The application by Brajesh Kumar Mishra, Joint Director Prosecution, Gautam Buddh Nagar, seeking to withdraw the case read: “Both the complainants and the accused are residents of the same village, Bisada… Despite that, the complainant (Akhlaq’s wife) and other witnesses (Akhlaq’s son and daughter) have changed the number of accused in their statements.”
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