SC refuses to order CBI probe into Mathura violence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the violence in Mathura that left 29 people, including two policemen dead.

A vacation bench of justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy said that it is not inclined to pass any order and asked the petitioner to approach the Allahabad high court for a remedy.

During the hearing, senior advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for lawyer and Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, said large scale violence has been reported in the city and evidences are being destroyed.

She said that the Samajwadi Party-led Uttar Pradesh government is not recommending a CBI probe and the state investigating agencies are “not doing their work properly”.

To this, the bench said, “From your petition there is no evidence to suggest there is any lapse on the part of state investigating agency. Without any evidence that state investigating agencies are not working properly, courts cannot interfere.”

The bench asked the petitioner to withdraw the petition and termed it dismissed as withdrawn.

The apex court had on Monday agreed to hear the plea which had sought an urgent hearing, saying CBI probe was necessary, looking at the gravity of the violence.

Twenty nine people, including Mathura Superintendent of Police Mukul Dwivedi and Station House Officer Santosh Kumar Yadav were killed in the clash between the police and encroachers that broke out in the city on June 2 when police tried to evict illegal occupants, believed to be of Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi, from Jawahar Bagh on Allahabad high court orders.

Upadhyay, in his plea, had said the court may also take suo motu cognizance of the matter and direct the CBI enquiry, as “it is necessary to find out the truth, root cause of the incident and nexus among executive, legislature and the said group”.

The petitioner had also sought a direction to the state and Centre for framing of a uniform policy for compensation for families of the deceased in such cases.

It had also claimed the union government was ready for a CBI inquiry into the incident but Uttar Pradesh government was developing cold feet in recommending CBI probe.

Image: Charred vehicles inside Jawahar Bagh that was opened for the public in Mathura on Monday. A violent clash between encroachers and the police took place at the Jawahar Bagh, killing 29. Photograph: PTI