Brinda Karat writes to President seeking intervention in Dadri lynching case

Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat has written to President Droupadi Murmu seeking her intervention in the 2015 Dadri mob lynching case of Mohammad Akhlaq, alleging that the Uttar Pradesh government, with the Governor’s consent, is attempting to withdraw the prosecution in a manner that “subverts the entire judicial process”.

In her letter, released to the media on Friday (December 12, 2025), Ms. Karat said the U.P. Governor had granted written permission to the State government to withdraw the case even though the trial had progressed and the testimonies of the key witnesses had been recorded.

“I regret that I am forced to write to you on this matter, but since the Governor has been appointed by you and is answerable to you, I felt it is in the interests of justice to inform you of the facts and to request your urgent intervention,” the CPI(M) leader wrote.

Akhlaq, a resident of Bisahda village in Gautam Buddha Nagar district, was lynched by a mob outside his home on September 28, 2015, while his son, Danish, was grievously injured in the same assault, she said. A case was registered under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections relating to murder, attempt to murder, and rioting, and had triggered widespread outrage across the country at the time, Ms. Karat stated.

“In 2022, the direct witness, the daughter of the victim gave evidence, and named and identified all the accused. In other words, evidence against the accused has been presented and recorded in the court. The case is going on and two other direct witnesses are to give their statements,” she noted.

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According to Ms. Karat, the Uttar Pradesh government has now decided to withdraw the case, citing grounds such as the use of lathis rather than firearms, the absence of personal enmity with the victim, and the claim that continuation of the trial could lead to communal disharmony. She alleged that delays caused by the prosecution itself were now being used as justification for seeking withdrawal. “This is motivated not to meet the ends of justice but to subvert the entire judicial process,” she said, describing the move as a “blatant misuse” of Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Raising questions about the role of the Governor, Ms. Karat asked whether it was not the constitutional duty of the office to uphold the rule of law. “If such a case is withdrawn, what will be left of the processes of justice?” she wrote, warning that it could set a precedent for the withdrawal of mob lynching cases on similar grounds.

The CPI(M) leader urged the President to intervene and direct the Governor to withdraw the permission granted to the State government. She said the matter was urgent, noting that an affidavit filed by the State government seeking withdrawal of the case, approved by the Governor, was scheduled to be heard by a district court in Greater Noida on December 12, but was deferred at the request of the prosecution.