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SC asks Lakhimpur accused Ashish Mishra to respond to plea to cancel his bail
Ashish Mishra is accused of mowing down four farmers at Lakhimpur on October 3, 2021, as they protested against the now-scrapped farm laws
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Lakhimpur Kheri violence accused Ashish Mishra to respond to a plea to cancel his interim bail on charges that he was influencing witnesses in the case and had flouted the court order barring him from entering Lakhimpur Kheri except to attend the trial.
“There are some allegations of threatening of witnesses. Also, there are some photographs. You need to file an affidavit,” a bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan told senior advocate Siddharth Dave who appeared for Ashish Mishra, son of Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former union minister Ajay Mishra.
The court posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.
Mishra is accused of mowing down four farmers at Lakhimpur on October 3, 2021, as they protested against the now-scrapped farm laws. He was granted interim bail by the top court on January 25, 2023, with strict conditions imposed on his movement and an express bar against him or any person in his family or supporters exerting influence or threat against the witnesses.
The court had initially also barred his entry into Uttar Pradesh but allowed him to reside at Lucknow in July after his father lost the Lok Sabha elections and had to surrender his official residence in Delhi. The bar on travelling to Lakhimpur Kheri continued except to join the trial. He was accordingly permitted to travel to Lakhimpur a day before the date fixed in the district court.
At Wednesday’s hearing, senior advocate Siddharth Dave denied that a photograph of an event submitted in the court featured him. “It is not me in the photograph. Every time they are moving an application. This is an endless process. It is not meant for the court, it is meant for outside,” Dave said, rebutting the photograph attached with the application filed by one of the victims.
The court recorded in its order that the accused vehemently denied the accusations by the accused. The bench said, “Even if you (accused) have to deny, state that on affidavit. The affidavit shall be filed in four weeks.”
The application filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan said that conditions imposed by the court have been violated by the accused who has threatened witnesses appearing in the trial. The application did not name the witnesses fearing a threat to their lives, but was willing to produce electronic evidence to back up the allegation in a sealed cover if the court so permits.
Only one of the victims has moved the application. It said, “The accused has been wielding his influence in Lakhimpur and violating with impunity the bail conditions imposed by this court thereby vitiating a fair trial.”
The plea further sought cancellation of bail citing the explicit warning in the top court’s January 2023 order that violation of any bail condition would lead to cancellation of grant of bail.
The application attached photographs of a public function held on October 2 coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti at Lakhimpur, saying it showed Mishra sitting on the stage though the top court order did not permit Mishra to enter Lakhimpur, except to attend the trial.
“October 2 is a national holiday and there was no trial scheduled for October 3, 2024,” the application said, adding that the accused often entered Lakhimpur, but it was hard to get any concrete evidence since he travelled in the district in cars with dark tinted windows.
Eight people were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that broke out on 3 October 2021. Four of them were farmers protesting against the now-repealed farm laws and had gathered at the incident spot where UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was to visit. As per the police charge sheet, the killings were pre-planned as Mishra arrived in a Mahindra Thar SUV along with a convoy of 3-4 vehicles at the site where the farmers were protesting. One journalist was also killed under the wheels.
Infuriated by this act, the farmers pulled out three occupants from the car and they were beaten to death. A separate criminal case in this regard was registered by police and is pending trial. The four farmers accused in the case were granted regular bail in January 2023.
Prior to approaching the top court, Mishra was refused bail by the Allahabad high court in July 2022. The top court in November 2021 formed a special investigation team to probe the incident and appointed a retired judge Rakesh Jain of the Punjab and Haryana high court to monitor the investigation.
In September last year, the top court disbanded the team as the investigation was complete and a charge sheet came to be filed before the Lakhimpur court. The court has since been monitoring the progress of the trial by calling for periodic reports from the trial judge
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