NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday in its order asked the Superintendent of Police, Lakhimpur (Uttar Pradesh) to initiate an enquiry into the allegations levelled by the family members of 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri killings victims alleging that the prime accused, Ashish Mishra allegedly tried to influence the witnesses in the case.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Surya Kant and also comprising Justice N Kotiswar Singh passed the order on Monday, after hearing an application filed by the family members of the deceased.
In their application, the family sought the cancellation of the bail granted to Mishra alleging that he was trying to influence the witnesses in the case.
"The apex court has also earlier in its order clarified that if the accused, influences the witnesses and it is also proved, then his bail should be cancelled," the family members in their petition claimed.
After hearing these allegations, the top court directed the Uttar Pradesh SP to submit a detailed report within four weeks.
On July 22, 2023, in a major relief to prime accused, Mishra, son of former Union Minister Ajay Mishra, in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case that claimed eight lives, the Supreme Court in its order had granted him bail.
During the course of the hearing on Monday in the apex court, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra, vehemently denied the allegations of the family members and said that the application was publicity-oriented.
Dismissing the allegations, Dave said, on the relevant day, Mishra was at the Lok Sabha secretariat and there could not be a bigger proof of the allegations being misplaced. "The applicants (family members) have developed a habit of repeatedly making such kind of allegations against Mishra," Dave argued.
On the other hand, Prashant Bhushan, lawyer for the family members, said that the identity of the witnesses sought to be influenced can't be revealed due to fear of reprisal.
"The bail of the accused (Ashish Mishra) be cancelled immediately on breach of SC's orders," he argued before the Apex court.
After hearing the submissions of both the parties - family members and Ashish Mishra - the top court said that in such a scenario, a parallel enquiry may be required to find out if the person alleged of trying to influence is Mishra's associate or planted by someone else.
Highlighting that the inquiry into the case must find out the truth into the allegations, The apex court said, "In our view, the veracity, genuineness and reliability of such material can be gone into by police administration who will submit a report on the allegations made."
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 the state of Uttar Pradesh during a protest against the Centre’s farm laws that have now been repealed. The farmer bodies, in the case, have alleged that a vehicle belonging to accused Mishra had run over a group of demonstrators.
The Supreme Court in its order on February last year, had extended the interim bail granted to the accused, Mishra, the prime accused in the case, in which eight persons, including four farmers, were allegedly mowed down by a four-wheeler. On the contrary, the allegation was, however, vehemently denied by Mishra.
The accused, Mishra was first arrested in the case on October 9, 2021. He walked out of jail on February 15, 2022, after the Allahabad High Court had granted him bail.
On December 6, a Uttar Pradesh court had framed charges against 14 persons including Mishra. Mishra has been charged with a number of offences including murder, attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy. The trial had begun on December 16, 2023.