Lakhimpur Kheri case: SC cancels bail granted to Ashish Mishra, asks to surrender in a week
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The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the bail granted to Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence incident. He has been ordered to surrender in a week.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli asked the Allahabad High Court to examine afresh whether Mishra should be granted bail or not.
The bail to Ashish Mishra was challenged by the families of farmers who were killed on October 3 at Lakhimpur Kheri in UP.
The bench noted that the victims have been denied a chance of an effective hearing and the high court overlooked relevant considerations. It further added that the tearing hurry shown by the high court merits the setting aside of the bail order and remanded the matter back to the high court for fresh consideration. The bench said the high court order cannot be sustained and is thus set aside.
Earlier, the apex court had objected to the high court order giving credence to "irrelevant" details in FIR and post-mortem reports to grant bail to Mishra.
On April 4, the Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, where eight people lost their lives, was a grave offense, but no untoward incident happened after Ashish Mishra, the prime accused in the case was granted bail, and he was also not a flight risk.
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the family members of the victims, submitted that the high court failed to consider relevant facts, and the order suffered from gross non-application of mind by the high court. After hearing the detailed arguments in the matter, the top court reserved the order.
Mishra was arrested on October 9 last year in the case. On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri in clashes during a farmers' protest. He was granted bail by the high court on February 10.
The family members of the farmers, mowed down by a car belonging to Mishra, in Lakhimpur Kheri had moved the top court challenging bail granted to him. He is the son of Union Minister and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra. The victims' families have claimed that the state has not filed an appeal opposing the bail granted to Mishra.