The Delhi High Court will hear the appeals of four convicts in the 1975 murder case of former Railway Minister LN Mishra in November. Mishra was killed in a grenade blast at Samastipur Railway station in Bihar.
Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma set the hearing for November 29, 2024. They instructed the defense and the CBI to submit their documents and arguments by that date. No further adjournments will be permitted.
The convicts—Santoshanand, Sudevanand, Gopalji, and Ranjan Dwivedi—are challenging their life sentences. Mishra’s grandson, Vaibhav Mishra, has been allowed to assist the CBI during the final hearing.
Mishra, a senior Congress leader, was critically injured on January 2, 1975, while inaugurating a broad gauge line. He died the next day. The trial court convicted the three ‘Ananda Margis’ and Dwivedi in December 2014 for the attack, which aimed to pressure the Indira Gandhi government.
The trial court also ordered compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of Mishra and the other victims. The case was moved to Delhi by the Supreme Court.
Other accused, including Ram Nagina Prasad, Ram Rup, and Arteshanand Avadhoot, have been discharged or died. Some were pardoned after turning approvers.
