The Supreme Court on Monday expressed its concern over an allegation that Ashish Mishra, prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri farmers death case, was attending various functions in Uttar Pradesh, in violation of his interim bail conditions.
The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice PS Narasimha said that if Ashish, son of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, was physically attending the events in UP, then it would certainly be a violation of his bail conditions.
Perusing the progress report sent by the trial judge today, the Apex Court took an exception to the Public Prosecutor’s alleged non-cooperation with the trial court.
It directed both the PP and the Police to take effective steps to secure the presence of witnesses so that the time of the trial court time was not wasted. The bench further directed the Registry to submit a copy of the report to UP AAG for necessary action and information.
The Bench further noted that two witnesses had expressed unwillingness to depose due to ill health.
Representing the family members of the victims, Advocate Prashant Bhushan today apprised the Apex Court that Mishra had been violating the bail condition, which allowed him to enter UP only for trial. He said the accused has been participating in various functions, distributing tricycles in UP.
Stating that he did not know how this was being allowed, the lawyer submitted that he would file an affidavit over the same.
Denying the allegation, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Mishra, contended that the accused was not that foolish to violate his liberty like that. He said there was a difference between what was being said across the bar and what was on paper. he further said that he did not trust the videos showing Mishra attending the events in UP.
The Court proceeded to orally ask Bhushan to file an affidavit on his allegations. However, it did not put anything on record about it in the order passed today.
Earlier on September 26, the Apex Court had agreed to relax the bail condition of Ashish Misra, allowing him to travel to Delhi to tend to his ailing mother and avail treatment for his daughter.
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Dipankar Datta said that addressing media or any public meeting during this time is not permitted to Mishra.
The bench pased this order after Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, who appeared for Mishra, submitted that his mother has been admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and that his daughter needed some surgeries.
The bench agreed to arrange Mishra’s application to travel to and reside in Delhi.
The Supreme Court in July had extended the interim bail granted to Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra for his alleged involvement in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case of 2021 that led to the death of eight people, including four farmers.
The order was passed by the Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Dipankar Datta, after taking note of the submissions made by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi.
Representing Mishra, the Senior Advocate submitted that the proceedings were going smoothly in the case.
Rohatgi said the witnesses from both the sides were being examined by the court, adding that several reports have been filed in connection with the case.
While keeping the bail application of Mishra pending, the Supreme Court observed that it was doing so to oversee the progress of the trial and the conduct of the accused.
The Bench then listed the matter for further hearing on September 26.
Earlier on March 14, the top court of the country had maintained status quo on the regular bail application of Ashish Mishra.
While observing that the trial was proceeding on the right path, the Apex Court noted that it was receiving regular reports from the Trial Judge regarding the trial and cross examination of witnesses.
It directed the Trial Court to continue apprising it with future progress in the case and directed the Registry to post the matter for further hearing.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the families of victim farmers, expressed concern over the slow pace of trial.
The Bench, while refusing to agree with Bhushan, said the progress reports of trial court judges showed otherwise. It noted that the chief examination of three witnesses had been completed, adding that only on one day during the trial, the Presiding Officer was not available.
The Apex Court said it did not want to use the term ‘monitoring,’ but that it was having an ‘indirect supervision’ over the trial.
The Bench, while noting that it had gone through three additional letters related to the case, ordered that interim directions would continue till the next date of hearing.
Earlier on January 25, the Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice J.K. Maheshwari had granted interim bail of eight weeks to Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, for his alleged involvement in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case of 2021 that led to the death of eight people, including four farmers.
The top court of the country had observed that it was not expressing final opinion on the regular bail plea of Mishra and other petitioners, but passing an interim order, taking in view the concerns for fair trial of petitioners and their right to liberty under Article 21, which had to be balanced with the right of the State.
The Apex Court, while keeping the regular bail application filed by Mishra pending, granted him interim bail. It then directed the Registry to list the matter for March 14 for directions after the trial court sent a report on the status of witnesses being examined.