NEW DELHI, India: The Supreme Court recently rejected a request to overturn the Allahabad high court’s ruling affirming the acquittal of Union minister Ajay Mishra ‘Teni’ in the 2000 murder case of Samajwadi Party youth leader Prabhat Gupta. Mishra, the current member of parliament from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, serves as the Union minister of state for home affairs in the Narendra Modi government.
The Supreme Court’s decision came after a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the deceased’s brother, Rajeev Gupta, was dismissed by a division bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal. The high court’s judgment was not challenged by the Uttar Pradesh government in the Supreme Court, despite requests made by Gupta.
On May 19, 2023, the high court upheld the acquittal of Teni and three others in the 23-year-old murder case. This decision was based on the court’s finding that the prosecution had failed to establish the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
Rajeev Gupta expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the SLP, questioning where victims would go for justice if the highest authority in the country, the SC, would not interfere. The murder case dates back to 2000, when Teni, a BJP worker, and his three associates were accused of the crime.
The high court’s ruling was the culmination of a long legal battle, with the matter being filed in 2004 following the trial court’s acquittal. This case resurfaced in 2021 when Mishra’s son and associates were accused of murdering farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. The incident brought renewed attention to Teni’s past, including the murder charge against him.
Despite the controversies surrounding him, Teni has maintained that all cases against him were false and had concluded in his favor. Before his political career, he held positions in the local government. The Supreme Court’s recent decision effectively ends the legal battle in this long-standing case.