Greater Noida: A case transfer application (TA) in the Mohammad Ikhlaq lynching case is set to be heard on Wednesday which will decide if the case will proceed at additional district judge (ADJ) Saurabh Dwivedi’s Fast Track Court (FTC) or somewhere else.
The application was moved by the accused’s counsel on January 8, when Ikhlaq’s wife Ikraman (single name) had come to record her statement after FTC expedited the trial for day-to-day hearing on December 23.
As of now, only Ikhlaq’s daughter Shaista’s statements have been recorded before the court while his wife and son Danish’s versions are yet to be recorded.
The transfer application, to be heard by district judge (Gautam Budh Nagar) Atul Shrivastava, was filed on behalf of six accused, Vinay, Shivam, Saurabh, Sandeep, Gaurav and Hariom, claiming that all allegations against them filed by police were “false” and they were “falsely implicated.”
“Considering the seriousness of the case, the Uttar Pradesh government directed the withdrawal of the case registered against the innocent people and following hearings, the court rejected the Section 321 CrPC application to withdraw the case,” reads the transfer application, adding, “Without hearing the accused’s counsel, the court rejected the application after hearing one side (victim) only.”
The plea added, “Due to FTC’s proceeding, the accused were legally harmed and lost hope to get justice. Moreover, it is required to transfer the case from ADJ FTC to some other court.”
Ikhlaq’s counsel, Yusuf Saifi, told HT that, “The transfer application is scheduled before the District Judge for January 14 (Wednesday) and then it will be decided that the case will continue at FTC Dwivedi court or somewhere else.”
Saifi added that “all the allegations in TA’s are baseless as FTC heard their counsel, Hariraj Singh, before passing the order.”
On January 8, when the court learned about the transfer application that had been moved before the higher judicial authority, ADJ Dwivedi adjourned the hearing till January 23, citing a Supreme Court judgment in P K Ghosh, IAS vs J G Rajput, as well as an Allahabad High Court ruling that cited Supreme Court observations on transfer petitions. Quoting the judgments, the court noted that when a party apprehends that it may not receive justice from a particular presiding officer, and the officer is aware that a transfer application has been moved, the officer should not proceed with the case and must wait for orders on the transfer plea.
Notably, on the December 23 order, the FTC had termed the lynching a “serious crime against society” and held that no grounds existed to justify withdrawal of prosecution.
Ikhlaq, 55, was lynched by a mob in Bisada village on September 28, 2015, following rumours that his family had stored beef at home. His son, Danish, was injured while trying to save his father. The attack triggered nationwide outrage over rising intolerance, with writers, filmmakers, and scientists returning state awards in protest.