NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday extended the interim bail granted to Ashish Mishra, the prime accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case in which eight people, including four farmers, were allegedly mowed down by a four-wheeler, till the next date of hearing.
A single-judge bench of Justice Surya Kant passed the order. The bench also directed Mishra, the son of Union Home Minister of State Ajay Mishra, not to address the media till the court further heard the matter.
On September 26, 2023, the top court allowed Mishra to visit and stay in the National Capital Territory of Delhi to look after his ailing mother and to get treatment for his daughter in the national capital. The apex court had relaxed the interim bail conditions and Mishra was asked not to stay either in Uttar Pradesh or in Delhi during the period.
According to the prosecution, eight persons, including four farmers, were allegedly killed on October 3, 2021, after violence broke out in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh during a protest against the Centre’s farm laws that have now been repealed.
The farmer bodies have alleged that a vehicle belonging to Mishra had run over a group of demonstrators. The accused was first arrested in the case on October 9, 2021. He walked out of the jail on February 15, 2022, after the Allahabad High Court had granted him bail. On December 6, an Uttar Pradesh court had framed charges against 14 people, including Mishra.
He has been charged for a number of offences including murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy. The trial had begun on December 16, last year.
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