SC to examine plea seeking prosecution of UP CM in Gorakhpur riot case

The Supreme Court today agreed to examine a plea challenging an Allahabad High Court order dismissing a petition seeking prosecution of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a hate speech case of 2007.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud asked petitioner Rasheed Khan to serve the copy to all the parties who were before the High Court.

The High Court had earlier this year upheld a sessions court order which had quashed a magistrate’s order taking cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the police in 2009. While dismissing the petition, the high court had said the sessions court was right in holding that there was no prosecution sanction to initiate trial against the BJP leader and others in the case. The Sessions Court at Gorakhpur district had on January 28, 2017, quashed the magisterial court’s cognisance order saying there was no sanction to prosecute the accused including the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and others.

On January 27, 2007, several incidents of violence were reported in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh and Khan had lodged the FIR under various sections of IPC.a