The Supreme Court on September 18, 2023, relieved a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the Lakhimpur Kheri killings case, and former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, who monitored the investigation, of their responsibilities.
A Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant recorded that the investigation was over, charge sheet were filed on the basis of two FIRs and the trial court had commenced proceedings. The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the case, said the trial judge has been sending periodic status reports.
“It appears the SIT has become functus officio [accomplished their purpose]. Members of the SIT and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain can be relieved of their responsibilities,” the court observed in its order.
The court however said the SIT could be reconstituted in future in case it was found necessary.
Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra is an accused in the case. The prosecution case is that an SUV allegedly belonging to Mr. Mishra’s convoy mowed down farmers protesting controversial agricultural laws in a rally at Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh on October 3, 2021.
Former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain was appointed as monitoring judge of the probe to “ensure transparency, fairness and absolute impartiality”. The retired judge’s appointment was meant to assure “full and complete justice to the victims of crime”.
The SIT was composed of directly recruited IPS officers- S.B. Shiradkar, Padmaja Chauhan and Dr. Preetinder Singh. The Supreme Court, while appointing the members, was insistent that they had no roots in Uttar Pradesh in order to avoid any “lurking suspicion in respect of the fairness and independence of the investigation and preserve the faith and trust of the people in the administration of the criminal justice system.
In fact, both Justice Jain and the SIT had urged the State of Uttar Pradesh to appeal against an Allahabad High Court order granting bail to Mr. Mishra last year in the case. They had raised the apprehension that Mr. Mishra was influential and could tamper the evidence or “influence witnesses” while out.
However, in an unexpected turnaround of events, the apex court had itself deemed it fit to grant Mr. Mishra interim bail in January 2023 even as it described the crime as “ghastly” and “unfortunate”.
The apex court had directed Mr. Mishra to leave Uttar Pradesh so that he posed no danger to witnesses waiting to testify against him in the main murder case. He was also banned from entering Uttar Pradesh or staying in Delhi.
It had justified that the interim bail and conditions imposed on Mr. Mishra was a balancing of the right of the accused to liberty, the right of the State to conduct a fair trial and the right of the victims to get justice.
