New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday gave bail to former Union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra in the case related to the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence that claimed eight lives, 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”.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan 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.
“Taking into consideration all the attending circumstances, the interim order is made absolute... We are informed that out of 114 witnesses, seven have been examined so far. In our considered view the trial proceedings need to be expedited,” the bench said.
“We direct the trial court to fix the schedule, keeping in view the pendency of other time-bound or urgent matters but prioritising the pending subject,” it added.
The apex court directed the public prosecutor to ensure that not less than five witnesses are examined on one day and sought a status report from the trial court.