Lakhimpur violence case: HC judge recuses himself from hearing Ashish Mishra’s bail plea afresh

LUCKNOW: Justice Rajeev Singh of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Wednesday recused himself from hearing the bail plea of Ashish Mishra, key accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. The matter would next be listed after the nomination of a new judge for hearing the plea.

Ashish Mishra, son of MoS Ajai Mishra Teni, is facing a case of murder which he is accused of committing during a farmers' protest that had turned violent in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3, 2021. In the incident, Mishra had allegedly ploughed his SUV into the crowd of protesting farmers crushing four of them to death on the spot.

The High Court bench, comprising Justice Rajeev Singh, had granted bail to Ashish Mishra on February 10, 2022. Thereafter, the HC order granting bail to Mishra was challenged in the Supreme Court of India after an SLP was filed by the relatives of the deceased farmers.

On April 18, the apex court had set aside the Allahabad HC order granting bail to Mishra and asked the accused to surrender within a week. The SC had even admonished the High Court for granting the bail to Mishra taking into account irrelevant considerations and denying the right of hearing to the victim. Cancelling the bail granted to Ashish Mishra, the apex court sent back his bail application to the High Court for a fresh decision on merits after affording the right of hearing to the victim.

Following the order of the apex court, Mishra surrendered on April 24 and was sent to jail. Accordingly, the bail petition was listed before the Lucknow Bench of the High Court on Wednesday. As it came up before Justice Rajeev Singh, who had earlier allowed Ashish’s plea, he recused himself from hearing and directed the office to lay the file before the Chief Justice for a fresh nomination of judge.