Lakhimpur Kheri violence: SC asks Ashish Mishra to reply to witnesses threatening allegation

A bench of justices, Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, asked Mishra's counsel to file the counter affidavit clarifying the allegation and listed the matter after four weeks.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra, denied the allegation. He further said that whenever matters are listed, something like this comes up.

Earlier the Supreme Court modified interim bail conditions of Ashish Mishra and permitted him to either stay in Delhi or Lucknow and also issued directions to expedite the trial in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The top court had also made the interim order absolute.

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 former Union Minister Ajay Mishra, moved the Supreme Court challenging the 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 former Union Minister Ajay Mishra, in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The bail was rejected by the Lucknow bench of the 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 case of murder 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, challenging the Allahabad High Court order, which granted bail to Ashish Mishra. That time, the top court cancelled the bail plea of Mishra.

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)