A Surajpur court dismissed the Uttar Pradesh government’s plea under Section 321 CrPC to withdraw charges against the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, calling the application legally unsustainable at the evidence stage.
Ordering the trial to be fast-tracked with daily hearings, the court categorised the case as “most important” and directed police authorities to ensure full protection of all evidence.
The court noted that a key eyewitness—Akhlaq’s sister Shaista—has already testified, and held that alleged inconsistencies or lack of weapon recovery were insufficient grounds to abandon prosecution in a lynching case.
UP Court Rejects Govt Plea to Drop Murder Charges In Akhlaq Lynching Case
A court in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday rejected the state government’s plea to withdraw all charges against the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, and instead ordered that the trial be fast-tracked with day-to-day hearings.
Summary
A court in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday rejected the state government’s plea to withdraw all charges against the accused in the 2015 lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, and instead ordered that the trial be fast-tracked with day-to-day hearings.
Additional District Judge Saurabh Dwivedi dismissed the Public Prosecutor’s application filed under Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which sought withdrawal of prosecution against the 14 surviving accused.
The court directed that the case be categorised as “most important” and heard on a daily basis, and instructed the prosecution to record evidence at the earliest.
It also ordered that a letter be sent to the Police Commissioner of Gautam Buddha Nagar and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Greater Noida, to ensure full protection of all evidence in the case.
According to Akhlaq's lawyer Yusuf Saifi the Surajpur court in Greater Noida observed that the state government’s application lacked sufficient grounds. "The court noted that the trial is already at the evidence stage and that a key eyewitness—Shaista, Akhlaq’s sister—has testified before the court. In these circumstances, the court held, an application seeking to drop charges could not be entertained," he said.
The matter will be heard next on January 6.
Mohammad Akhlaq (50) was lynched by a mob in September 2015 in Bisada village of Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, following rumours that his family had slaughtered a cow and stored its meat at home.
On October 15, the Uttar Pradesh government had moved the application seeking withdrawal of prosecution, citing what it described as inconsistencies in statements by Akhlaq’s family, the absence of recovery of firearms or sharp weapons from the accused, and the lack of any recorded prior enmity between the accused and the victim.
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