Minister's Son Violated Bail: Lakhimpur Kheri Victims' Families In Court

Families of victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident told the Supreme Court today that Ashish Mishra, Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni's son and an accused in the case, has been attending various political functions in Uttar Pradesh in violation of his bail conditions.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the victims' families, told the court that Mr Mishra attended political events recently and 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 Mr Mishra while he was granted interim bail, including that he can visit Uttar Pradesh only to attend court proceedings and not for anything else. He said that he could file an affidavit.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and PS Narasimha remarked that if Ashish Mishra is attending political functions physically, it is a violation of his bail conditions.

However, senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Ashish Mishra, denied the charges and said his client was not a fool to violate liberty in such a manner.

The court verbally asked advocate Prashant Bhushan to file a report but did not put it in the order copy.

Meanwhile, the top court took note of the report sent by a trial court judge. 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 as it noted that certain witnesses were not present, causing a delay in the trial.

On January 25, 2023, the top court granted interim bail for eight weeks to Ashish Mishra while imposing several conditions. Later, the bail was extended from time to time.

The top court had directed Ashish Mishra to inform the court concerned about his location. It had also clarified that any attempt by Mr Mishra or his family to influence witnesses and delay the trial may lead to bail cancellation.

The court also directed Mr Mishra to mark his attendance at the police station in his location.

Ashish Mishra moved the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court order that denied him bail in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.

On July 26, 2022, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court denied him bail.

Ashish Mishra challenged the order in the Supreme Court through advocate-on-record T Mahipal. Mr 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.

Mr Mishra allegedly ran over the farmers protesting against the Centre's three farm laws. He was arrested on October 9 and granted bail in February 2022.

The top court set aside the Allahabad High Court's February 10, 2022 order and remitted the matter to the High Court. The Allahabad High Court's order could not be sustained and had to be set aside and the bail bonds of the accused had to be cancelled, the top court had said, directing Ashish Mishra to surrender within a week.

The victims' families moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Allahabad High Court order, which granted bail to Ashish Mishra. The top court cancelled Mr Mishra's bail plea.

Earlier, the Supreme Court appointed a committee headed by retired Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Rakesh Kumar Jain to monitor the probe into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.