New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed former Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra to respond to the allegation that witnesses were being threatened in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Tikunia in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan. At the beginning of the hearing, a counsel, representing one of the complainants, contended before the bench that he had filed a plea claiming that witnesses were threatened by Mishra. Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Mishra, denied the allegations and said this is an "endless process". Dave said it is not his client in the photographs.
The bench asked Dave to file an affidavit clarifying his stand after he refuted the allegations. The bench asked Mishra to file the affidavit within four weeks. The apex court had earlier granted bail to Ashish Mishra and restricted his movement to Delhi or Lucknow. The apex court 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.
The violence in Lakhimpur Kheri erupted when farmers were protesting against Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area. Four farmers were mowed down by a vehicle. A driver and two BJP workers were then allegedly lynched by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence.
The top court then asked Mishra to file an affidavit denying the allegations within four weeks. On July 22, the top court had granted bail to Ashish Mishra and restricted his movement to Delhi or Lucknow. On January 25 last year, the top court had given Ashish Mishra interim bail in the "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 hearing.
On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Tikunia in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district. The violence erupted when farmers were protesting against Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area. Four farmers were mowed down by a sports utility vehicle. A driver and two BJP workers were then allegedly lynched by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence.
The apex court in February had extended Ashish Mishra's interim bail and asked its registry to obtain a report from the trial court on the progress of the case. The Supreme Court on January 25 last year had said Ashish Mishra should not stay in Uttar Pradesh or Delhi during the period of interim bail. This was done with a view to avoid any influence on witnesses in the case.
Later, on September 26, the apex court relaxed his bail conditions 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 last year, the trial court framed charges against Ashish 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.
