Court rejects UP govt plea to withdraw charges against Akhlaq murder accused

The case will be heard next on January 6.

Akhlaq (50) was beaten to death by a mob over rumours that he had killed a cow and stored the meat in his home in Bisada village in Dadri, Gautam Buddh Nagar district.

On October 15, the UP government had moved an application to withdraw prosecution in the case, citing reasons that ranged from allegedly inconsistent statements made by Akhlaq’s kin in naming the accused and the fact that no firearms or sharp weapons were recovered from the accused, to the absence of previous enmity or hostility between the accused and the victim.

The prosecution said that while Akhlaq’s wife Ikraman, in her statement, had put the number of accused at 10, Akhlaq’s daughter Shaistha had named 16, and his son Danish had named 19.

The Indian Express had reported in its edition on Monday that in its application to withdraw the case, the UP government had essentially made the same argument – of inconsistent and contradictory witness statements – that two of the accused had presented when they applied successfully for bail more than eight years ago.

The government had “vehemently” opposed the grant of bail to the accused at the time, court records show.

Counsel for Ikraman submitted that the plea for withdrawal of charges was based on misleading facts, and was against social harmony. Counsel argued that the petition did not submit any grounds that justified the withdrawal of the case, and alleged that the state’s application was politically motivated.

Ikraman’s lawyer pointed out that her husband had died in the attack and her son had sustained critical injuries and spent months in hospital, and that charges had already been framed in the matter.

In its order, the court said that it had carefully studied the judgments of the Supreme Court in Sheo Nandan Paswan vs State of Bihar (1987) and Tehseen S Poonawala vs Union of India (2018) that were cited by counsel for the victim, and State of Kerala vs K. Ajith and Others (2021), which was cited by counsel for the accused.

Relying on the verdict of a five-judge Bench in Sheo Nandan Paswan, the court said that the victims had the right to object, and the objection was fit to be heard and taken cognizance of. The matter dealt with in Ajith was not related to ‘mob lynching’ the court said.

The court said that murder is a crime against society, and the state carries out prosecution so that “the fear of law remains ingrained in society”. The prayer of the prosecution for withdrawal was without any basis, and fit for rejection, the court said.

Members of Akhlaq’s family expressed happiness and relief at the judgment of the court. “We hope that next steps in the process will be taken at the earliest,” one of them said.

Akhlaq’s lawyer, Mohammad Yusuf Saifi, told The Indian Express that now that the court had rejected the prosecution’s prayer for withdrawal of charges, the priority would be to expedite the process of recording the statements of the prosecution witnesses.

“Shaistha’s statement had already been recorded, Akhlaq’s mother, Askari is no more. The incident happened on September 28, 2015, and the chargesheet was filed on December 21, 2015, but it took six years for the framing of charges. We are so relieved with the judgment,” Saifi said.

The Indian Express reported Monday that the UP government has now made essentially the same argument that two of the accused had presented earlier.

Senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, who was present in court, said: “We welcome the judgment… The court has rejected the UP government affidavit to withdraw the case of mob lynching and murder, and attempt to murder against the accused. The judgment is a big step for justice.”

On September 28, 2015, a mob had gathered outside Akhlaq’s house after an announcement was made from the village temple alleging that he had slaughtered a calf. Akhlaq and his son Danish were dragged out of their home and beaten until they fell unconscious. Akhlaq died in a Noida hospital; Danish survived after undergoing major surgery for severe head injuries.

Based on a complaint by Ikraman, an FIR was registered at Jarcha police station in Dadri under sections including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder),147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (assault), and 504 (intentional insult to disturb peace), of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).

In the chargesheet filed before the magistrate’s court in Surajpur on December 23, 2015, police named 15 people, including a minor, in connection with Akhlaq’s  lynching. The chargesheet did not specifically mention cow meat, as the final forensic report was not available at the time.

All the accused are currently out on bail.