Uttar Pradesh Court rejects government plea to withdraw charges against Akhlaq murder accused

A Fast Track Court in Surajpur under Gautam Budhha Nagar district on Tuesday (December 23, 2025) rejected the Uttar Pradesh plea to withdraw the prosecution case against the men accused of lynching Mohammad Akhlaq in 2015.

Additional District Judge Saurabh Dwivedi rejected the Public Prosecutor’s plea under Section 321 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which sought to drop charges against the 14 accused.

The Court marking the case as most important issued direction for daily hearing of the case and directed for the protection of the evidence related to the case. The case will be heard next on January 6, 2026. 

The Dadri lynching: how events unfolded

In the matter, the Uttar Pradesh Government in October 2025 pushed to withdraw case against accused. Additional District Government Counsel, Gautam Buddha Nagar, had filed the withdrawal application in the local court. The Assistant District Government Counsel, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bhag Singh Bhati acted on the directions of the State Government through a letter dated August 26, 2025. 

The matter dates to September 28, 2015, when a crowd gathered outside Akhlaq’s house in Dadri after an alleged announcement from a village temple claiming that he had slaughtered a cow. Akhlaq and his son Danish, were dragged out of their home and assaulted until they fell unconscious. The victim died at a Noida hospital.

The local police filed a First Information Report (FIR) under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder),147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (assault), 504 (intentional insult to disturb peace), among others of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Jarcha police station.

In the same year the police filed a charge sheet against 15 people, including Vishal Rana, son of a local BJP leader, as main accused who helped the mob to Akhlaq’s house and assaulted the family.