In a recommendation note accessed by TOI, the Uttar Pradesh Government has recommended the withdrawal of 38 criminal cases against more than 100 individuals who were accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. The note prepared by special secretary JP Singh and undersecretary Arun Kumar Rai was sent to the Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate(DM) on January 29, 2019.
“Äfter evaluating the facts and available correspondence and documents, it has been decided after careful consideration, that the cases against accused must be withdrawn by presenting the approval before the district court,” says the ‘recommendation note’.
The cases that the Yogi Adityanath Government has sought to withdraw deal with the charges of dacoity, vandalizing places of worship, use of fire and explosive substances and inciting violence by outraging religious feelings. Another case under section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, related to obstruction to work with criminal intent and injury by a man will also be dismissed.
BJP MP Sanjiv Balyan, one of the accused in the 2013 riots, had met CM Adityanath in Lucknow last year and requested him to withdraw the cases lodged against ‘Hindus’. “These men involved in alleged crime had been moving one Lok Adalat to another for the past six years. These cases were not of any big crime like murder, rape, or any grievous injury. SIT, set up by then government, had given a clean chit to rich and affluent people and poor people were slapped with cases. If they are Hindus, it’s not my fault. I will fight for them always and I am thankful to UP CM Yogi Adityanath”. Balyan told TOI.
The MP accused of rioting also said that he has not asked his own case to be withdrawn and further added that he will be appearing in the court for his case on February 8, 2019. BJP leaders like Sangeet Som and Umesh Malik are among the individuals accused in the riot. However, it remains to be seen if the step has been taken by the UP govt to remove their names from the list of 100 individuals.
The UP govt gave a nod to withdraw the cases on January 10 and subsequently the note was sent to the DM on January 29. The govt had sought an opinion on ‘dropping’ of at least 119 riot FIRs filed at six police stations in 2013 including Fugana, Bhaurkala, Jansath, and others.
The approval of UP governor Ram Naik has also been cited in the recommendation letter. It has also referred to CrPC section 321, which allows withdrawal from prosecution, with court’s consent at any time before the pronouncement of the judgment or withdraw from the prosecution of any person in any offense.
The 2013 riots have been described as the “worst violence in the state of Uttar Pradesh in recent history”. The clash between Hindu and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar district escalated into a full-scale riot, resulting into the deaths of at least 60 people and more than 50,000 people fled their homes.