NEW DELHI: The Uttar Pradesh government in a counter-affidavit filed in the Supreme court has said that the state government had “vehemently opposed” the bail application of Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.
The state government has informed the top court in response to a petition filed by the family members of the victims of last year's violence against the Allahabad High Court's order which had granted bail to him.
"That at the very outset, the answering respondent takes exception to the averments in the SLP to the effect that State did not effectively oppose the bail application of the accused respondent No.1...The same clearly demonstrates that respondent No. 1’s bail application was vehemently opposed by the State and any averments to the contrary in the SLP are completely false and merit to be rejected. Furthermore, the impugned order being of February 10, 2022, the limitation period against the same is still running, and the decision to file SLP against the same is pending consideration before the relevant authorities,” the state government said.
The Supreme Court on March 16 had issued a notice in the matter and had asked the state of Uttar Pradesh to file a detailed counter-affidavit. The court had also taken note of the submission of petitioner’s advocate Prashant Bhushan who appeared for some of the farmers that there was an attack on one of the witnesses of the case. The matter is most likely to be heard on March 30.
The state government said the particular incident is not related to the matter and was a result of an altercation due to a dispute over Holi Gulal.
“As per the Section 161 statements of the said eyewitnesses, ...at around 8.15 pm, Diljot Singh came towards the Primary School near Danga, on a tractor-trolley laden with sugarcane. His police gunner Manoj Singh was with him at the time. At that time, some people were playing with Holi Gulal near the school and threw the Gula! on Diljot Singh as well. When Diljot Singh objected to the same, an altercation broke out between him and the others, in which one of the miscreants hit him with a belt and others kicked and punched him. It is submitted that contrary to the case put forth in the FIR registered by Diljot Singh, all the witnesses were ad idem on the fact that none of the miscreants mentioned either Respondent No. I or the ruling party winning the elections, and that the incident was a result of a sudden altercation due to the dispute over Hali Gulal, and had no relation to the incident of 03. IO .2021. It is also pertinent to note that even the FIR itself, does not mention the presence of Respondent No. I or other accused in Case Crime 219/2021 on the scene,” the state has said.
“…the attempt by the Petitioners in the SLP and Application for Additional Documents to conflate and connect the two incidents is completely unwarranted…,” the government has added.
Moreover, it has been submitted that as per the court orders, the families of all the victims of the case, and all the witnesses whose Section 164 statements were recorded, have been receiving continuous security under the Witness Protection Scheme 2018.
"The lack of any discussion in the high court's order as regards the settled principles for grant of bail is on account of lack of any substantive submissions to this effect by the state as the accused wields substantial influence over the state government as his father is a union minister from the same political party that rules the state." The petition seeking cancellation of bail states.
"The impugned order is unsustainable in eyes of law as there has been no meaningful and effective assistance by the State to the court in the matter contrary to the object of the first Proviso to Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which provides that in grave offences notice of bail application should ordinarily be given to the public prosecutor," it added.