The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition seeking a probe by an independent agency into Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s alleged role in the 2007 Gorakhpur communal violence. He was the Gorakhpur MP then.
A Division Bench of Justices Krishna Murari and Akhilesh Chandra Sharma said it did not find any discrepancies in the investigation or in the State government’s decision to refuse sanction to prosecute Mr. Adityanath. The petitioners, Gorakhpur-based activist Parvez Parwaz and lawyer Asad Hayat, alleged that the State machinery failed to carry out a fair probe.
The case dates back to January 2007 when communal clashes broke out in Gorakhpur and adjoining areas after a Hindu youth was killed in a clash during a Moharram procession. Mr. Adityanath allegedly delivered a hate speech then, calling for revenge against the minority community.
