Today 7th April,The Delhi High Court scheduled the plea by LN Mishra’s grandson in May, to be heard alongside the convict’s appeal in the assassination case. LN Mishra, a former Railway Minister, assassinated in 1975. The grandson’s plea likely pertains to aspects of the case or legal proceedings. This development suggests a comprehensive legal review of the case and related issues. The court’s decision to combine both matters highlights the complexity and significance of the LN Mishra assassination case.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court scheduled a plea by Vaibhav Mishra, the grandson of former railways minister L N Mishra, for May 16.
His plea seeks a fair reinvestigation into the blast that killed L N Mishra at Bihar’s Samastipur Railway Station over 48 years ago. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait‘s bench listed Vaibhav Mishra’s application alongside the convicts’ appeal against their life sentences. Vaibhav Mishra approached the high court following the Supreme Court’s October 13 ruling, which allowed him to assist in the convicts’ appeal proceedings.
His application under Section 482 CrPC follows the Supreme Court’s directive in SLP (Crl.) No.13467/2023.
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In a recent order the bench which also includes Justice Manoj Jain, stated that,
The plea will be listed alongside the main appeal, CRL.A. 91/2015, on 16th May, 2024,”
The experienced Congress leader and esteemed cabinet minister sustained fatal injuries during grenade explosions at Samastipur while attending the inauguration of a broad gauge line on January 2, 1975. He subsequently transported from Samastipur to Danapur for medical care, where he passed away due to his injuries on January 3, 1975.
Vaibhav Mishra approached the highest court challenging a high court order that dismissed his request for instructing the CBI to carry out a “fair investigation” and “re-investigation” in the case.
Accusing that the investigation mishandled, Mishra requested a new investigation based on various reasons, including the release of the actual perpetrators, resulting in an “injustice.” Three ‘Ananda Margis’-Santoshanand, Sudevanand, and Gopalj along with advocate Ranjan Dwivedi, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in December 2014 for the murder of the former railway minister and two others.
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The trial court determined that the terrorist act aimed to pressure the then Indira Gandhi government to release the group’s incarcerated leader. The convicted individuals appealed the trial court’s decision in 2015, challenging their convictions and sentences. They were granted bail and await the high court’s pending appeal decision.
The trial court also ordered the Bihar government to compensate Rs 5 lakh each to the legal heirs of Mishra and two other blast victims who perished on January 2, 1975, a few months before the Emergency declaration. It concluded that the plot to eliminate the targets was devised during a 1973 meeting in a Bhagalpur district village involving six ‘Ananda Margis’.
Defendants Ram Nagina Prasad and Ram Rup were acquitted in January 1981, while Arteshanand Avadhoot passed away in 2004 during the case proceedings. Two others, Visheshwaranand and Vikram, were pardoned after cooperating with the authorities.
Following Supreme Court instructions, the case was transferred from Bihar to Delhi.
Read Case: [Vaibhav Mishra vs. CBI & Ors.]