Lakhimpur violence case: The Supreme Court, while hearing a bail plea of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra's son, Ashish Mishra, who is accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, reserved its order on Thursday. Notably, on October 3, 2021, eight people were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri district's Tikunia in violence that erupted when farmers were protesting then Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area.
The apex court heard submissions from Additional Advocate General for Uttar Pradesh Garima Prashad, and senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Dushyant Dave. "We will pass orders," the bench said. Opposing the bail plea, Prashad told the top court that the crime was grave. "It is a grave and heinous crime and (granting bail) will send a wrong signal to society," she said.
Dave said granting bail will send a terrible message to society.
"It is a case of balancing the rights of the parties"
Reserving its order on the bail plea, the bench said it is a case of balancing the rights of the parties. "The state has a right to ensure there is a fair trial uninfluenced by extraneous circumstances. The state has a right because society has a lot of stakes involved. The accused has a right that unless he is proven to be guilty of the offence, he should not be incarcerated for an indefinite period.
"To us, this is not one petitioner before us. My principle has been for the last 19 years that I never see the victim who is before me, I also see the victims who cannot come to court and they are the worst victims. You want us to open our mouths," Justice Kant observed orally.
"The worst victims are those farmers who are also languishing in jail. Who is going to look after them? If this man is not granted anything, then nobody is going to grant them. They will remain in jail for times to come. The trial court has already rejected their bail," he added.
Senior advocate Dave, appearing for those opposing the bail plea, said he was surprised and disappointed at this comparison by the court.
Story so far
On December 6 last year, a trial court had framed charges against Ashish Mishra and 12 others for the alleged offences of murder, criminal conspiracy and others in the case of the death of the protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri, paving the way for the start of the trial.
A total of 13 accused, including Ashish Mishra, have been charged under IPC sections 147 and 148 related to rioting, 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427 (mischief) and 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), and section 177 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
The other 12 accused are Ankit Das, Nandan Singh Bisht, Latif Kale, Satyam alias Satya Prakash Tripathi, Shekhar Bharti, Sumit Jaiswal, Ashish Pandey, Lavkush Rana, Shishu Pal, Ullas Kumar alias Mohit Trivedi, Rinku Rana and Dharmendra Banjara.
All of them are in jail.
While hearing the matter on December 12 last year, the apex court had asked the state government, which opposed the bail plea of Ashish Mishra terming the offence "very grave", to file an affidavit concerning the status of the case lodged over the killing of three occupants of the SUV.
(With inputs from PTI)
Also Read: Lakhimpur Kheri violence: May take five years to conclude trial, UP govt informs SC
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