Lakhimpur Kheri violence case: The Supreme Court has granted bail to Ashish Mishra, son of former Union minister Ajay Mishra, in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The interim bail initially granted on January 25, 2023, has now been made permanent. Ashish Mishra is allowed to stay in Delhi or Lucknow.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjwal Bhuyan observed that out of 117 witnesses, only seven have been examined so far and called for speeding up the trial proceedings. The court directed the concerned trial court to give priority to the matter keeping in mind other urgent matters. The bench said, “Taking into consideration all the circumstances, the interim order is finalised… We are informed that out of 117 witnesses, seven have been examined so far. In our view, there is a need to speed up the trial proceedings.”
The Supreme Court has also granted bail to the farmers involved in the case. Violence broke out in Lakhimpur Kheri when farmers protested against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to the area. Eight people died in the incident, including four farmers who were crushed by a sports utility vehicle.
In retaliation, a driver and two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers were allegedly beaten to death by protesting farmers. A journalist also died in the violence, sparking widespread outrage.
