The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday told the Allahabad High Court that it has not granted permission to prosecute Chief Minister Adityanath in connection with a 2007 Gorakhpur riots case.

The high court had summoned Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar to explain the delay in prosecuting five people, including the chief minister, in the communal riots case. Adityanath has been accused of making a hate speech in 2007.

Explaining the government’s decision, Chief Secretary Bhatnagar said that a forensic examination of a CD of the alleged hate speech was found to have been tampered with, reported NDTV. He also added that the investigating agencies have proposed to close the case. He told the high court that he will submit the closure report in a trial court, according to PTI.

The petition was filed by journalist Parvez Parwaz, who had earlier lodged an FIR in Gorakhpur, and eyewitness Asad Hayat. They had moved the court demanding an investigation by an independent agency into the communal riots. The petitioners challenged the government’s decision not to prosecute the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. “We sought permission to file an application challenging the state government’s order refusing to grant sanction for prosecuting Adityanath. The court gave permission to do so by the next date of hearing on July 7,”the petitioners’ counsel SFA Naqvi told PTI.

What happened in Gorakhpur

On the night of January 26, 2007, a group of men had allegedly molested women who were part of a musical troupe, and had then joined a passing Moharram procession. There was firing on the procession, following which clashes broke out. A Hindu man was killed.

Curfew was then imposed in parts of the city. The next evening, violating Section 144 that prohibited the assembly of more than four people, Adityanath had delivered a speech outside Gorakhpur railway station. According to the petitioners, Adityanath’s provocative speech had led to riots in Gorakhpur and surrounding areas. Two people had died, and there was extensive damage to homes, shops and vehicles.

In February 2017, the state government had told the court that the Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department had asked the state government for permission to prosecute Adityanath under Section 153(a) for promoting enmity between groups. Investigating officer Chandra Bhushan Upadhyaya said that he had filed his report in 2015.