The Supreme Court Monday stayed the Allahabad High Court order granting bail to one of the main accused in the December 2018 Bulandshahar lynching in which a police officer was killed amid protests over cow slaughter.
A bench of Justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh asked accused Yogeshraj to surrender within seven days.
“The matter is quite serious where under the pretext of the cow slaughter, a police officer has been lynched. Prima facie, it is a case of people taking law into their own hand. We are of the view that Yogeshraj should be asked to surrender within a period of seven days from today and thus to that extent, the impugned orders granting him bail are stayed,” the bench said.
In December 2018, Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and a local resident, Sumit Kumar, were killed in mob violence near Siyana village of the district during protests against alleged cow slaughter.
The bench was hearing a plea by the officer’s wife Rajni Singh against the 2019 Allahabad HC order. The accused was granted bail in Section 124 A (sedition) and had earlier been given bail in other sections, including 120 B (conspiracy), 147 (rioting) among others.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde said the accused after being released on bail, had contested elections and had been booked for allegedly threatening to kill someone who did not vote for him. The counsel appearing for Yogeshraj said there is no specific allegation against him of lynching.