Gorakhpur riot: How can trial continue sans sanction, asks HC
ALLAHABAD: Allahabad high court on Friday asked counsel for parties in the 2007 Gorakhpur riot case to apprise it whether a magistrate while applying his judicial mind can still proceed in a trial for which sanction to prosecute the accused had been rejected by the state government.
The court deferred till Monday the hearing and fixed July 31 for the final hearing of the case, in which chief minister Yogi Adi ty ana this an accused.
One person was killed and several others were injured in Gorakhpur after Adityanath, who is also the head of a powerful local Hindu sect, allegedly made a provocative speech outside a railway station. The then MP was reacting to the killing of Raj Kumar Agrahri, who was stabbed to death in a clash between Hindu and Muslim groups during a Muharram procession.
The division bench of justice Krishna M ur ari and justice Ak hi le sh Chandra S harm a was hearing the writ petition filed by Parvez Parwaz and As ad Hayat.
As soon as the hearing began, counsel representing the state raised objections and requested the court to hear them first.
The counsel then said while the petitioners had prayed for transfer of investigation to an independent agency, police had already concluded their probe on April 10,2015, and a final report in favour of the accused had been prepared. Later, sanction for prosecution was refused against the accused. The counsel said since investigation was through in the case, the petition had become infructuous and must be dismissed. If the petitioners’ were aggrieved by the final report, they could file objections before the magistrate concerned, the counsel said. On this, the court asked the state ,“If sanction for prosecution is refused by the state government, can a judicial magistrate proceed in the case applying his judicial mind on the objections filed before him?”
The court further asked, “If sanction is refused and magistrate cannot proceed then what remedy is left for aggrieved person?” The state government counsel then asked for sometime on this legal question.