New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted regular bail to Ashish Mishra, son of former Union minister Ajay Mishra, accused in the alleged killing of several farmers in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence in Uttar Pradesh during the ongoing agitation against the three controversial agricultural laws.
Apart from Ashish, a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan also granted bail to the farmers accused in other cases related to this incident. The court also directed the lower court to expedite the hearing. The apex court also directed the lower court to hear this case on priority keeping in mind other important pending cases.
According to the prosecution, eight people, including four farmers, were allegedly killed after violence broke out during a protest against the Centre's three farm laws (which were later withdrawn following massive protests by farmers) in Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 03, 2021.
In this case, farmer organizations have alleged that a group of protesters was crushed by the vehicle of accused Ashish Mishra.
The apex court in its order in February this year had extended the interim bail period granted to accused Mishra. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the victims, claimed that accused Mishra was violating the bail conditions set by the apex court. He claimed that the accused was visiting Uttar Pradesh and attending various functions in violation of his bail conditions imposed by the apex court in the case.
On the other hand, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing accused Mishra, refuted this and claimed, “There is no violation of the order of the apex court by his client in any way.” He said that there is no alleged threat, as the accused's father had lost the Lok Sabha elections. Accused Mishra was first arrested in this case on 09 October-2021.
He came out of jail on February 15, 2022 after the Allahabad High Court granted him bail. In January 2023, the apex court granted him interim bail for eight weeks in the case. He was also directed to leave Uttar Pradesh within a week of his release from jail. The lower court has already framed charges against 14 people, including Mishra.
