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Family members of victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Monday, informed the Supreme Court that Ashish Mishra, accused in the case, had been attending various political functions in Uttar Pradesh and violating the interim bail conditions.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the family members of the victims, informed the court that Mishra had been attending political functions recently, as there are posters and a video of him distributing tricycles in Uttar Pradesh. He also apprised the top court that various conditions were imposed on Mishra while granting interim bail, including that he can visit Uttar Pradesh only for the purpose of attending court proceedings and not for anything else. He said that he can file an affidavit. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and PS Narasimha remarked that if Mishra is attending political functions physically, then it will definitely be a violation of his bail conditions. However, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Ashish Mishra, denied the allegations and said that he is not a fool to violate liberty in such a way. The court orally asked advocate, Prashant Bhushan, to file a report on this regard but did not put it in the order copy. Meanwhile, the top court took note of the report sent by the trial court judge in Uttar Pradesh. The court also remarked that the public prosecutor and the police need to take effective steps to secure the presence of witnesses in the case. The court's direction came when it noted that certain witnesses were not present, causing delay in the trial. On January 25, 2023, the top court granted interim bail for eight weeks to Ashish Mishra and imposed various conditions. Later, it was extended from time to time. The top court had directed Ashish Mishra to inform the concerned court about his location. The Supreme Court had also clarified that any attempt by Ashish Mishra or his family to influence witnesses and try to delay the trial may lead to cancellation of his bail. The court has also directed Mishra to mark his attendance in the concerned police station of his location. Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, moved Supreme Court, challenging Allahabad High Court, which denied bail to him in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case On July 26, 2022, the Allahabad High Court denied bail to Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The bail was rejected by the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court. The said order is challenged by Ashish Mishra in the Supreme Court, filed through advocate on record T Mahipal. Mishra is facing a murder case for the incident that took place on October 3, 2021, in which eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri. Mishra allegedly ran over the farmers who were protesting against the Centre's three farm laws. He was arrested on October 9 and granted bail in February 2022. Mishra, again moved to the High Court as the Court's earlier order was set aside by the Supreme Court in April 2022 and had ordered fresh consideration of his bail plea. The top court earlier had set aside the Allahabad High Court order dated February 10, 2022, and remitted the matter back to the High Court. The top court had said that the order of the Allahabad High Court cannot be sustained and had to be set aside and the bail bonds of the respondent/accused are cancelled. The Court had directed Ashish Mishra to surrender within a week. Family members of the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Allahabad High Court order, which granted bail to Ashish Mishra. The top court cancelled Mishra's bail plea. Earlier, the Supreme Court had appointed a committee headed by retired Punjab and Haryana high court judge Rakesh Kumar Jain to monitor the probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. (ANI)
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