Lakhimpur Kheri case judge has 789 pending trials before him, SC says his burden is ‘humanly impossible’

The Supreme Court was shocked on Tuesday to find that the judge hearing the Lakhimpur Kheri murder case has 789 trials before him. He said it is “humanly not possible” for one judicial officer to be saddled with so many processes.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who heard the case, highlighted the crumbling judicial infrastructure and the often insurmountable workload on judges in Uttar Pradesh, one of the country’s largest states.

Unnecessary escalation: about the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri

The Lakhimpur Kheri case involves Ashish Mishra, the son of a former Union minister, as the prime suspect. The case revolves around an incident on October 3, 2021 when an SUV, which was part of Mishra’s convoy, allegedly mowed down protesters, including four farmers, who were protesting against the controversial farm laws in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh.

“How many trials are pending in Uttar Pradesh? Please think of setting up more courts… It is humanly impossible for one judge to hear so many trials,” Chief Justice Kant addressed the Additional Advocate General of the State of Uttar Pradesh.

The Chief Justice said the court has asked the Center to provide more funds for additional judicial infrastructure, including exclusive courts to hear cases under the UAPA, NIA, PMLA and NDPS laws.

“We are hopeful that steps will be taken at the central level,” Chief Justice Kant noted.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra, said the special courts meant to hear cases against MPs and MLAs were “clogged”.

A status report filed by the state revealed that only 36 witnesses were examined by the court in the Lakhimpuri murder case; 85 remained, while 10 were excused from giving evidence.

According to the report, a forensic examination of voice recordings of “threat calls” received by a witness, Baljinder Singh, had yet to be completed.

In October, the State Police found the allegation of threatening the witness worthy of registering an FIR.

Mr Singh had approached the Supreme Court in January alleging that he had received a threatening phone call warning him against an impeachment during the trial. The registration of the FIR follows the court’s sharp criticism of the UP police on August 7 for its prolonged inaction over the complaint of alleged threats against the witness.

Meanwhile, the top court allowed Mishra to stay in Lakhimpur Kheri with his family from December 25 to December 31, provided he fulfilled the conditions of his bail granted in January 2023.

Mishra’s bail conditions had barred him from entering Lakhimpur Kheri except when necessary for a trial.

He was arrested within six days of the October 3, 2021 incident. According to the police complaint, the murders were premeditated. Mr Mishra reportedly arrived at the protest site in a Mahindra Thar SUV, accompanied by a convoy of vehicles, one of which rammed into a group of farmers. A journalist was among the dead.