The petitioner has filed a contempt petition against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath concerning the extra judicial killing of UP gangster Vikas Dubey, contending that he has violated the Court’s order by making statements in support of the police encounter.
Petitioner, Ghanshyam Upadhyay had sought an SIT probe into the case.In the plea against Yogi Adityanath, Upadhyay has raised objection to certain statements made by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to the media.
“Yogi Adityanath gave an interview/made a statement before media viz. ‘Republic News/TV’ thereby supporting and justifying killing of six accused. The said news article has been published by E-media under the heading ‘YOGI ADITYANATH BREAKS SILENCE ON VIKAS DUBEY ENCOUNTER: GANGSTERS WILL MEET THEIR FATE’.”reads the plea.
As per Upadhyay, the statement made by UP CM Yogi Adityanath tantamounts to a challenge and a defiance of the authority and majesty of the Supreme Court, which lowers the dignity and image of the Court in the public eye.
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The petitioner has expressed fears that the statements in question made “would prejudice the mind of the people/witnesses, who with the result, are likely to refrain from giving evidence against the State/its functionary which includes Shri Adityanath Yogi as well, as he himself is alleged to be main person involved in the killing of six accused under the guise of police encounters.”
The petitioner has stated that if such statements go unpunished, it would “undermine the authority and majesty of the highest court of the country, is bound to breed contempt for law and would encourage lawlessness and every man would have tendency to become law unto himself thereby leading to anarchism.”
The Supreme Court earlier approved the draft notification by the Uttar Pradesh government to include former apex court judge Justice (Retd) B S Chauhan and former DGP K L Gupta in the inquiry committee to probe the killing of gangster Vikas Dubey and his associates in police encounters.
According to the terms of reference, the Commission headed by Justice (retd.) Chauhan will investigate not only the incident involving the killing of Vikas Dubey but also probe the inaction of the authorities which led to the gangster being released on bail despite facing over 60 cases.
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On July 9, Madhya Pradesh Police had arrested Vikas Dubey in Ujjain. Dubey was shot dead while trying to escape after a car accident on July 10, a day after his arrest in Madhya Pradesh.
He was the prime accused in the killing of eight police personnel who were part of the team that had gone to Bikru village in Kanpur to arrest him in an attempt to murder case on July 2. The case triggered a political controversy, with opposition leaders alleging a bigger plot behind Dubey’s killing.
