In a major setback for Yogi Adityanath, a Sessions Court on Tuesday ordered a notice to be issued against the Uttar Pradesh chief minister for involvement in a 19-year-old murder case.

The case dates back to 1999, in which Satya Prakash Yadav, a personal security officer of then Samajwadi Party leader Talat Aziz was killed during a protest organised by the party.

According to the police files, Yadav was killed during the protest in Maharajganj when a group allegedly led by Adityanath opened fire on the agitators.

Aziz’s plea to reopen the case was turned down by a Sessions Court in March this year, soon after which he filed a review petition at the Lucknow High Court, which in turn directed the Sessions Court to reopen the trial.

Now, the Sessions Court in Maharajganj has ordered that a notice be issued to the accused, including Yogi Adityanath and others, for further trial in the case. The court has also given a week’s time for CM Yogi to respond to the notice.

As politics heats up ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019, this two-decade-old case can ruffle feathers.

Opposition parties Samajwadi Party and Congress have already started demanding Yogi Adityanath’s immediate resignation as the chief minister, saying that the trial and the victims may fall prey to political influence.

Speaking to News18, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan said, “We all know that our chief minister has some serious charges against him and now even the honourable court has directed to issue a notice against him in the 19-year-old murder case. We demand immediate resignation of CM Yogi Adityanath as he could influence the trial if it starts and can also harm the victims.”

Echoing similar sentiments, UP Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said, “The chief minister and depuy chief minister both have some serious cases registered against them, which they were trying to get away with by terming them as politically motivated. We are thankful to the court for taking action in this case and the notice order.”

“Till the time trial is on, the CM must step down from his post, else the victims can be threatened and influenced. It is a pity that BJP that has more than 300 MLAs, could not find a person with a clean record for the post of the chief minister.”