Impossible, yet promised? Akhilesh wants to drop cases against Muslim leaders

By Ratan Mani Lal LUCKNOW:  The Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh, in a desperate move to hold on to its fast-eroding Muslim base in the state, has attempted to withdraw cases against Muslims involved in serious cases of violence. This is not the first such attempt by the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. In May last year, the government’s attempts to withdraw cases against men accused of carrying out serial blasts in 2007 was finally stayed by the court, which said this could not be done without the consent of the Centre. [caption id=“attachment_124351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav[/caption] Now, a similar exercise has been initiated to first seek information about the cases involving seven Muslim leaders accused of complicity in inciting the Muzaffarnagar riots, despite the fact that the cases are still being investigated and two BJP MLAs have been detained in connection with the same. The Muzaffarnagar district administration is also learnt to have submitted that any move to withdraw cases against the accused was “not tenable.” In both cases, the sequence of events had been the same: First, a letter from the state law department to the district administration, asking about the status of the cases and whether these could be dropped. On December 20 last, Special Secretary to the Uttar Pradesh government Rangnath Pandey sent an official communication to the district magistrate of Muzaffarnagar, seeking the opinion of the superintendent of police and public prosecutor in Crime Number 1114/2013 lodged with the Kotwali police station in Muzaffarnagar in connection with a meeting held on August 30, 2013. All accused named in the FIR were Muslims - Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Qadir Rana, former Congress MP Saeeduzzama, BSP MLAs Noor Salim Rana and Jameel Ahmed, along with a cleric Maulana Jameel and two businessmen namely Naushad Qureshi and Pappu Rana. Qadir Rana, formerly an SP MLA, is known to be making overtures to the SP to join the party and be its nominee for the Muzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seat. The letter sought comments on 13 specific points related to the case including, among other things, dropping of charges against the accused under Section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 153 A (Promoting enmity on ground of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 353 (Stopping a public servant from discharging his duties) and 341 (Wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Later, the Muzaffarnagar district administration said that any move to withdraw cases against the accused was “not tenable.” The move has drawn flak from the opposition parties, especially in view of the fact that cases have been lodged against BJP MLAs Suresh Rana, Sangeet Som and a dozen others under similar sections of the law. Som and Rana were even detained under the NSA, though their detention was eventually quashed by the NSA advisory board. The party also accused the Akhilesh Yadav government of trying to appease the minorities and imperilling the judicial process against the perpetrators of the Muzaffarnagar riots, which claimed over 60 lives. However, as the news came into public domain followed by an Opposition outcry, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav sounded defensive as he said, “We have asked for a report from the Muzaffarnagar district administration. That does not mean withdrawal of cases. We want to ensure that no innocent is victimised.” He said that even the Union home ministry had recently sent out a circular to all states asking them to ensure that innocents among minorities were not implicated in false cases. This, incidentally, is the same response Akhilesh had given when he was first asked about similar moves made earlier last year. Then, the state government had first sent a similar letter then followed it up with administrative action to formally withdraw terror charges against persons accused in cases of serial explosions in 2007. The letters were sent to the district magistrate of Barabanki, informing him that the government was considering withdrawing the criminal case pending against alleged Harakt-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI)-linked terror accused Tariq Qasmi and Khalid Mujahid. The government also moved the court of special judge (Barabanki) Kalpana Mishra for the same. The court, however, ruled that the withdrawal of cases was “not in public interest.” A similar proposition had been made before the Gorakhpur court also which is hearing the criminal case related to the serial blasts in which six people were injured. Tariq is accused of being involved in the May 22, 2007 serial blasts at district courts in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi and was picked up by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police from outside Barabanki railway station about a month after the incident. However, on June 7 the High Court stayed the government order to withdraw cases and on December 12, the Allahabad High Court said that the Uttar Pradesh government will have to seek the permission of the Central government for withdrawal of terror cases against several accused. Incidentally, the withdrawal of cases against “innocent” Muslim youths was one of the major promises made by the Samajwadi Party during the election campaign in 2012. Even Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had urged the states to ensure that no innocent Muslim was framed in criminal cases. But if the efforts do not have the required legal or administrative merit, their withdrawal will not stand court scrutiny. The SP leadership can always say that its intention were “genuine” but these had been thwarted by the courts, said a BJP spokesman. “It amounts to a mere announcement because even the government knows that withdrawal of cases is not that easy especially when the offence is serious such as terrorism or communal riots.”