SC gives UP govt time till Monday to appoint retired judge to oversee Lakhimpur Kheri probe

New Delhi, Nov 12: The Uttar Pradesh government has been given time till Monday to appoint a retired to supervise the SIT probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri incidents.

The court gave the UP government time till Monday to carry out its suggestion to appoint either former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Ranjit Singh or Rakesh Kumar Jain to supervise the SIT probe.

Four farmers were killed after being mowed down, following which 3 accused were lynched and a journalist was murdered.

Last week the court expressed disappointment over the status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh government on the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, and suggested that a former high court judge monitor the ongoing probe.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli said the investigation is "not going the way we wanted". The bench suggested the names of former judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justices Rakesh Kumar Jain or Ranjit Singh, for overseeing the probe till charge-sheets are filed. It also took note of the delay in procuring the forensic reports regarding the video evidence.

Earlier, the bench had directed the UP government to provide protection to witnesses under the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 and to record the statements of other witnesses before the judicial magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and expedite the examination of digital evidence by experts.

(With PTI inputs)