Lucknow, Apr 8 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has fixed May 16 for the final hearing of a government appeal against the acquittal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra in a 2003 murder case.

Justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav of the Lucknow bench of the HC passed the order on Thursday on an application moved by the complainant who had lodged an FIR in the matter in 2003.

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Arguing for the complainant, advocate Sushil Kumar Singh had submitted that the instant criminal appeal was filed by the state government in 2004 against the acquittal of Mishra in the murder case, and that the complainant too had preferred a revision against the acquittal.

It was added that the then Allahabad HC chief justice had asked the Lucknow bench of the High Court on November 22, 2013 to expedite the hearing on the state government's appeal.

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The government appeal was heard and the verdict was reserved on March 12, 2018 by a division bench of the court.

However, before the delivery of verdict, both the cases were relisted, requiring further hearing in the matter.

Mishra and others were named in the FIR lodged in Lakhimpur in connection with the murder of a 24-year- old youth Prabhat Gupta, who was shot dead in Tikunia area of the district in 2003.

A court of additional sessions judge in Lakhimpur Kheri had acquitted Mishra and others in 2004 for want of adequate evidence. Aggrieved by the acquittals, the state government had preferred an appeal while the deceased's family had filed a separate revision petition challenging the judgment.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)