1975 L N Mishra murder case: court reserves judgement

A court here today reserved its judgement in the case relating to the murder of the then Railway Minister L N Mishra at a function in Bihar nearly four decades ago.
District Judge Vinod Goel fixed the case for verdict after concluding the final arguments of CBI and the counsel for the four accused. The final arguments had begun in September, 2012.
The case relates to Mishra's assassination in a bomb blast at a function at Samastipur railway station in Bihar on January 2, 1975. He succumbed to his injuries next day.
Over 200 witnesses were examined in the case who included 161 prosecution witnesses and more than 40 defence witnesses.

Advocate Ranjan Dwivedi, who was 24-year-old at that time, was named as an accused along with four Ananda Marga group members one of whom has died.
Apart from Dwivedi, three other accused in the case are Santoshananda Avadhuta, Sudevananda Avadhuta and Gopalji.

The accused had earlier approached the Supreme Court for quashing of the trial against them in the murder case.
The apex court had on August 17, 2012 dismissed their pleas on the ground that the proceedings could not be quashed merely because they had not been concluded in the last 37 years.
The charge sheet in the case was filed on November 1, 1977 in a CBI court in Patna. The case was shifted to Delhi in 1979 on a plea by the then Attorney General to the apex court.

Except Gopalji, all those chargesheeted in the Mishra murder case were also named as accused in an attempt to murder case related to the bid on the life of then Chief Justice of India A N Ray in Delhi on March 20, 1975.