Supreme Court: Relief to Union Minister Ajay Mishra in murder case, HC's acquittal decision upheld

The Supreme Court has upheld the Allahabad High Court order which had rejected the appeal filed by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2004 against the acquittal of Union Minister Ajay Mishra in a murder case. The case pertains to the murder of Prabhat Gupta in 2000 in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.

The two-member bench said it was not inclined to interfere with the findings of fact recorded by the Lucknow bench of the High Court and the trial court. The bench, in its order passed on January 8, said that after hearing in detail the counsel Kapil Sibal appearing for the petitioner and perusing the material placed on record, we are not inclined to interfere with the facts recorded by both the courts. It is noteworthy that the trial court had acquitted Ajay Mishra in the case in 2004, after which the state government challenged the decision in the High Court.

The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by petitioner Rajeev Gupta, challenging the May 2023 high court order. In which it was said that there was no mistake in the decision of the trial court. Earlier, the Union Minister had moved the Supreme Court demanding the transfer of the appeal from the Lucknow bench of the High Court to the main bench of Prayagraj, which was rejected. It is noteworthy that the names of Ajay Mishra and others were included in the FIR lodged in Lakhimpur in connection with the murder, who was shot dead in the Tikunia area. Lakhimpur Kheri's additional sessions judge acquitted Ajay Mishra and others in the case in 2004 due to insufficient evidence. The family of the deceased had filed a separate revision petition challenging the verdict.