'Will Appoint Judge From Different HC to Monitor Probe': SC on Lakhimpur Kheri

The SC also rejected a request for a CBI probe, saying that the probe agency was not the solution to everything.

"We want a retired HC judge to monitor the probe and filing of separate chargesheets. We want to protect the evidence collected," said a bench led by CJI NV Ramana.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Supreme Court on Monday, 8 November, expressed disappointment over the way the probe in the Lakhimpur Kheri case was proceeding and said that it would appoint a judge from a different state's high court to monitor the investigation till a charge sheet is filed, LiveLaw reported.

The apex court also rejected a request for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident, saying that the probe agency was not the solution to everything.

Investigation Not Going the Way We Expected: SC

The investigation is not going the way it expected, the bench of SC judges said, expressing dissatisfaction at the fact that the forensic lab reports regarding the video evidence had not yet arrived and that the phone of only one accused had been seized so far.

The bench also expressed concerns about the case against the main accused in the attack on farmers being mixed up with the mob lynching case.

The court stated that the investigation into both the cases must be kept apart, adding that the statements of witnesses pertaining to different cases must be recorded separately.

"What we expect from SIT is those coming to depose in the case of farmers death, this will be an independent exercise and the evidence you are collecting in the other case cannot be used in this," Justice Kant remarked, according to Bar & Bench.

"What it appears to us is that this SIT is unable to maintain an investigative distance between the three FIRs," he went on to say, the report added.

In order to ensure that there is no overlapping of the evidence, the court said it was proposing the appointment of a retired judge from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to oversee the investigation, LiveLaw reported.

"We want a retired HC judge to monitor the probe and filing of separate charge sheets. We want to protect the evidence collected," said a bench led by CJI NV Ramana.

The SC suggested that Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain (Retd) or Justice Ranjit Singh (Retd) from Punjab and Haryana High Court can oversee the Lakhimpur Kheri investigation.

Nothing in Status Report, Complains SC

Earlier on Monday, while hearing the Lakhimpur Kheri case, the SC had expressed unhappiness over the status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh government.

The apex court said there was nothing in the status report apart from saying that more witnesses have been examined, reported news agency ANI.

The hearing has been adjourned and will next be taken up on Friday.

(With inputs from ANI, Bar & Bench and LiveLaw.)