SC directs UP to respond to SIT reports seeking cancellation of bail to Ashish Mishra

Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV following which the driver and two BJP workers were allegedly lynched by angry farmers

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to a recommendation by a former judge for the cancellation of Ashish Mishra’s bail, who is the prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case and son of a Union Minister, Ajay Mishra.

The former judge monitored the investigation as head of a court-appointed SIT.

“It appears from the report of the monitoring judge that he recommended cancellation of bail. What is your stand?” a bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli asked senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government.

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The bench said that the SIT had two written letters to the additional chief secretary, Home, Uttar Pradesh, in this regard.

Jethmalani said he had no idea about the letters and sought some time to take instructions on the matter.

The bench also said the monitoring judge, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, recommended that Mishra’s bail be challenged.

Jethmalani sought five minutes to come up with a response to the matter.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the victims’ families, submitted that the top court should either stay the February 10 order by the Allahabad High Court order or cancel the bail granted to Mishra, as it “suffers from complete non-application of mind”.

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Jethmalani, for his part, said the instructing counsel has spoken with the additional Home secretary, and he has not received the letters from the judge monitoring the probe.

The bench said the copy of the judge’s letters and report of the SIT should be supplied to the state government and counsel of other parties, including the accused and the victims.

Jethmalani asked the bench to keep on the matter for a hearing on Monday.

The bench, however, said it had been for more than a month, and the matter could not be taken up.

The court fixed the case for further hearing on April 4.

During the hearing, Dave alleged that the accused had tried to put forth a plea of alibi based on some concocted evidence, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.

To this, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the accused, claimed the victims’ side, led by Jagjeet Singh, had committed perjury by producing materials that were not there in the high court’s order.

Earlier, the UP government, in an affidavit, said the decision to challenge the HC’s order, allowing bail to Ashish, is pending consideration before the relevant authorities as it is yet not barred by the limitation period.

It also claimed the government had effectively opposed the bail before the high court. The government also said it had provided protection to 98 witnesses of the October 3, 2021, incident related to the mowing down of six farmers.

With regard to an attack on a witness on March 10, it said the incident arose out of an altercation on applying ‘Gulal’ in which all the accused were arrested on March 11 and granted bail on March 14.

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