The Delhi High Court will hear the appeals of four convicts in the 1975 assassination of former Railway Minister L N Mishra on November 29, 2024. The case involves a grenade blast at Samastipur Railway Station, nearly 50 years ago.
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court is set to hear the appeals of four convicts in the 1975 murder case of former Railway Minister L N Mishra. The convicts—Santoshanand, Sudevanand, Gopalji, and advocate Ranjan Dwivedi—were found guilty in connection to the assassination of Mishra, who died in a grenade blast at the Samastipur Railway Station in Bihar. The court has announced that the hearing will take place on November 29, 2024, nearly 50 years after the incident occurred.
High Court Sets Strict Deadline for Hearing
A bench consisting of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Amit Sharma emphasizes the importance of concluding the long-pending case, considering that the murder took place nearly five decades ago. The bench issued clear instructions, stating that no further delays would be tolerated in this matter.
“An adjournment has been requested on behalf of the appellants. Given that the incident dates back to 1975 and considering the large number of witnesses involved, the appeals should be heard. The matter is scheduled for hearing on November 29, 2024, as a priority on the court’s board.”
-the bench said in its September 3 order.
The court further emphasized:
“It is made clear that no further adjournments shall be granted in these matters.”
This strict stance follows numerous delays over the years in the hearing of appeals filed by the convicts, all of whom had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Synopsis and Judgments to be Filed
In preparation for the November 29 hearing, the court has instructed both parties—the convicts’ legal representatives and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)—to submit their synopses and the judgments they plan to rely on during the hearing.
The four convicts had been sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2014 by a trial court for their role in the assassination of L N Mishra and two other individuals who died in the blast. The convicts then appealed the verdict, and the High Court had been considering their appeal since 2015. During this period, they were granted bail.
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The Assassination of L N Mishra: A Historical Case
L N Mishra, a senior Congress leader and cabinet minister at the time, had traveled to Samastipur on January 2, 1975, for the inauguration of a broad-gauge railway line. During this visit, a grenade was hurled at the station, severely injuring Mishra. He was immediately transported to Danapur for medical treatment but tragically succumbed to his injuries the next day, January 3, 1975.
The trial court in 2014 convicted three ‘Ananda Margis’—Santoshanand, Sudevanand, and Gopalji—along with advocate Ranjan Dwivedi, holding them responsible for the grenade attack and murder of the railway minister.
Terror Act to Pressure the Indira Gandhi Government
The court found that the grenade attack was not an isolated criminal act but a politically motivated terror attack aimed at pressuring the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government to release the chief of the Ananda Marga group, who was in jail at the time.
The court stated-
“The act of terrorism was intended to pressure the Indira Gandhi government to secure the release of the group’s imprisoned leader.”
The conviction and life sentence handed down to the four convicts in 2014 were based on this conclusion.
The conspiracy leading to Mishra’s murder was reportedly hatched in a 1973 meeting held in a village in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, where six Ananda Margis were present. The trial court concluded that the plan to assassinate the railway minister had been in motion for two years before the attack took place in January 1975.
Two other accused in the case—Ram Nagina Prasad and Ram Rup—were discharged by the court in 1981, while another accused, Arteshanand Avadhoot, passed away in 2004 during the pendency of the trial. Additionally, two individuals, Visheshwaranand and Vikram, were granted pardon after they agreed to cooperate with authorities and turn approvers in the case.
The case had originally been under the jurisdiction of a Bihar court but was later transferred to Delhi by an order from the Supreme Court.
Compensation for the Families
In addition to sentencing the four convicts to life imprisonment, the trial court in 2014 also directed the Bihar government to provide compensation to the families of the victims. The court ordered that ₹5 lakh be paid to the legal heirs of L N Mishra and the two other victims who were killed in the blast.
“The Bihar government is to pay Rs 5 lakh each to the legal heirs of L N Mishra and two other victims who died in the January 2, 1975, blast.”
-the court had ruled, acknowledging the impact of the tragedy on the victims’ families.
Vaibhav Mishra, the grandson of L N Mishra, was permitted by the Delhi High Court to assist the CBI during the final stages of the hearing.
