Uttar Pradesh: The state of Uttar Pradesh has informed the Supreme Court that it is in favour of appointing a retired judge to oversee the investigation into the October 3rd Lakhimpur Kheri violence, which claimed the lives of eight people, including four farmers, who were allegedly mowed down by vehicles in the convoy of Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant, and Justice Hima Kohli took note of this and adjourned the matter till November 17th Wednesday to deliberate on the judge’s name.
The bench also noted that the Special Investigation Team formed by the UP Police to look into the case needs to be improved, as it is largely made up of Sub Inspectors from the Lakhimpur Kheri region. The court directed Senior Advocate Harish Salve, who represented the state of Uttar Pradesh, to circulate the names of IPS officers from the UP cadre who are not from the state to be considered for membership in the SIT.
On November 8th, the Supreme Court announced that it was considering appointing a retired judge from another state’s High Court to oversee the investigation. Senior Advocate Harish Salve, representing the State of Uttar Pradesh, requested time to get instructions from the State Government on the bench’s recommendations. The Bench had shown its displeasure with the Uttar Pradesh Police investigation. It was also displeased that the forensic lab findings on the video footage had not yet arrived and that none of the accuser’s cell phones had been taken.