Lakhimpur Kheri: SC appoints ex-judge to monitor SIT probe

A bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli also
reconstituted the SIT by appointing three IPS officers from outside Uttar Pradesh

TT Legal Correspondent   |   New Delhi   |  18.11.21:  The Supreme Court has appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, to monitor the Special Investigation Team probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre in which a convoy led by Union minister Ajay Mishra’s SUV, with his son Ashish allegedly in it, ploughed through farmers returning from a protest on October 3.

A bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli also reconstituted the SIT by appointing three IPS officers from outside Uttar Pradesh to it.

The bench recalled an earlier judgment in Babubhai Jamnadas Patel v. State of Gujarat & Ors that the Supreme Court and high courts are the “sentinels of justice” that ensure that the rule of law and Constitutional guarantees of a fair and impartial investigation into alleged criminality are upheld.

“While investigating such offences, justice must not only be done, but also be seen and perceived to be done. We thus deem it appropriate to reconstitute the SIT hereinafter to preserve the faith and trust of people in the criminal administration of the justice system. Further, to assure full and complete justice to the victims of crime, we are inclined to order that the ongoing investigation be monitored by a retired high court judge, who too may not have his roots in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

“We, therefore, appoint Justice (Retd) Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, to monitor the ongoing investigation so as to ensure transparency, fairness and absolute impartiality in the outcome of the investigation in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident which is to be conducted in a time­bound manner.

“We are informed that the present SIT predominantly comprises of middle level/sub­ordinate level police officers posted in district Lakhimpur Kheri. It appears to us that in spite of their perceived commitment and sincerity in carrying out the investigation, there may still be a lurking suspicion in respect of the fairness and independence of such an investigation. We, therefore, deem it appropriate to direct re­constitution of the SIT infused with directly recruited IPS officers who do not hail from the State of UP though are allocated to UP Cadre.”

The SIT will be headed by the ADG Intelligence HQ, S.B. Shiradkar, 1993 batch, and will include Padmaja Chauhan, IG, 1998 batch, and Dr. Preetinder Singh, DIG, 2004 batch.