Lucknow, Dec 24 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has set aside a magisterial court order to lodge an FIR and probe into the killing of a murder accused in a gunfight with police in February this year.

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Accused Girdhari Vishvarkarma alias Kanhaiya alias Doctor, arrested by the Lucknow police for allegedly gunning down gangster Ajit Singh had been shot dead by the police on February 15 this year when he had “tried” to escape from the police custody while being taken for the recovery of the gun with which he had sought dead gangster Singh.

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Acting on a plea by the counsel for Girdhari's brother Sanjay, the Lucknow chief judicial magistrate had ordered the lodging of an FIR despite the Supreme Court earlier in March this year ruling it out.

A Lucknow bench of the high court quashed the magisterial court order on a plea by the state government challenging the subordinate court order.

While quashing the magisterial court's order, the bench of Justice Rajeev Singh said, "While passing the impugned order, the CJM did not consider the provision of sanction provided in section 197 of the CrPC and a government order dated January 30, 1975, which protected the police personnel discharging their duty."

Justice Singh, who passed his order a few days ago, also took note of the apex court's order which had dismissed the plea of Girdhari's brother Sanjay for registration of an FIR in the case.

The main accused in the murder case of gangster Ajit Singh was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh police on February 15.

Girdhari Vishvakarma, 40, accused of gunning down Singh in the posh Gomti Nagar area in Lucknow on January 6, was killed in the encounter on February 15 morning, Lucknow police commissioner D K Thakur had said earlier.

Three policemen were also injured when Girdhari tried to run away from police custody after snatching the revolver of one of the policemen, he had said.

Girdhari was held for gunning down gangster Ajit Singh (39), a notorious criminal of Mau district having 17 cases against him, on January 6, in a shootout between rival factions in Gomti Nagar, police had said.

(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)