New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed former Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra, an accused in the murder case connected to the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, to strictly abide by the bail conditions imposed on him.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed the victims to file a contempt petition after they alleged violation of bail conditions by Mishra by holding a public rally on October 2.
“You have to strictly abide by the bail conditions,” the bench told senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the victims said the top court while granting bail to Mishra on July 22, directed him to abide by the bail conditions and allowed him to visit the place of his trial only a day prior to the date fixed in the case.
He went there (Lakhimpur Kheri) on October 1 as if there was a hearing on October 2, a national holiday, and the court was closed, and he addressed a massive public rally, claimed Bhushan.
He also submitted a printout of an purported poster of the rally in the top court.
Dave, subsequently, objected to Bhushan’s submissions, arguing every time there was a court hearing, the opposite party levelled allegations of violation of the bail conditions.
Justice Kant later asked Bhushan to file a contempt petition if there was violation of the bail conditions and posted the matter post Diwali vacations as the registry could not trace the communication sent by the trial court.
On July 22, the top court granted bail to Mishra in the case and restricted his movements to Delhi or Lucknow.
The top court had on January 25, 2023, granted him interim bail in the case, calling it an “unfortunate ghastly incident”.
It had also granted bail to four farmers — Guruwinder Singh, Kamaljeet Singh, Gurupreet Singh and Vichitra Singh — in the case and directed the trial court to expedite the hearing.
On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Tikunia in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district. The incident took place during the farmers’ protests against Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area.
Four farmers were mowed down by a sports utility vehicle and the driver and two BJP workers were then allegedly killed by angry farmers. A journalist had purportedly died in the melee.
The apex court had directed the public prosecutor to ensure no less than five witnesses were examined on each day of the hearing while seeking a status report from the trial court.
The apex court had on January 25, 2023 directed Mishra to leave Uttar Pradesh, ordering him not to stay either in UP or Delhi during the period of his interim bail. This was done with a view to avoid any influence on witnesses in the case.
Later, on September 26, 2023, the apex court relaxed the bail conditions for Mishra to enable him to visit and stay in the National Capital Territory to look after his ailing mother and for the treatment of his daughter.
On December 6, 2023, the trial court framed charges against Mishra and 12 others for the alleged offences of murder, criminal conspiracy and under other penal laws in the case of the farmers’ deaths, paving the way for the trial to start. PTI MNL AMK MNL AMK AMK
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