Pehlu Khan lynching case: Rajasthan HC quashes cattle smuggling case against victim, his two sons and driver

The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of the cow smuggling case against Pehlu Khan , who was lynched over two years ago in Alwar. A single-judge bench of Justice Pankaj Bhandari ordered the quashing of the chargesheet and FIR filed under the Rajasthan Bovine Animals Protection Act. According to reports, noting that there was “no evidence” to prove the case against Pehlu Khan and the other accused, the court said that the documents clearly show that they had bought the cattle for dairy and not for slaughter. [caption id=“attachment_7165461” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The video of Pehlu Khan being attacked by a mob. Image courtesy: YouTube screengrab[/caption] The court also directed the quashing of charges against driver Khan Mohammad for cow smuggling. The petition was filed by Khan Mohammed and the victim’s sons. It was contended by advocate Kapil Gupta, appearing for the accused, that the criminal case was a sheer misuse and abuse of the process of law since there was no evidence that the cows were being transported for illegal purposes. Pehlu Khan and his companions were initially said to be on their way to Haryana’s Nuh district from Jaipur when the cow vigilantes stopped two of the vehicles on the Jaipur-Delhi national highway. Six men were named in the FIR registered in 2017 in connection with Pehlu Khan’s murder. In a separate case under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act, the police had booked 16 people for illegally transporting 36 animals in six vehicles. In August, a Rajasthan court had acquitted all six accused in the lynching case. The court acquitted the accused as the Rajasthan Police were not able to prove the case ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. With inputs from PTI