Greater Noida, Jan. 7 -- As the first hearing in the 2015 Ikhlaq lynching case commenced on Tuesday, two weeks after a fast-track court (FTC) rejected the Uttar Pradesh government's plea to withdraw the prosecution, proceedings were deferred after the complainant side failed to produce a witness. The court subsequently listed the matter for January 8.

"Today, a witness was scheduled to appear before the court, but Ikhlaq's private counsel informed the court that due to health issues and a death in the family, the witness could not appear," said Bhag Singh Bhati, the government counsel appearing on behalf of Ikhlaq's family.

Advocate Andleeb Naqvi, also representing Ikhlaq's family, told HT that the responsibility of pursuing the case re...